Peralta Community College District's Only Student-Run Publication
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen

Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen

Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen

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Archives

CoA to host blood drive

College health coordinator says blood donations fell during pandemic
(Illustration: Eliot Faine/The Citizen)

The College of Alameda (CoA) Wellness Center will host a blood drive Tuesday on the quad.

Someone in the United States needs blood or platelets every two seconds on average, according to the American Red Cross. Lisa Sawadogo, CoA’s Health Services Coordinator, describes this as a “staggering” statistic. She said that donations have decreased greatly since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that CoA plans to continue to host blood drives every year in the spring.

Between 2019 and 2021, the U.S. saw a 60.7% drop in blood donations from teens aged 16 to 18, and a 31.9% drop in donations from adults between 19 and 24 years old, according to a guide to U.S. blood donor statistics released by America’s Blood Centers and the Association of Blood Donor Professionals released in January. The guide attributes the decline in youth donations to limitations placed on blood drives on school campuses due to the pandemic.

Newly eligible donors will have an opportunity to donate blood as well. Last May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated their donor eligibility guidelines for the first time in 40 years. Previously excluded sexually active gay and bisexual men may now be eligible to give blood. Under the current FDA guidelines, “all prospective blood donors will answer a series of individual, risk-based questions to determine eligibility,” a FDA press release states.

Tuesday’s blood drive will be run by Vitalant, a blood donation nonprofit. First-time donors can find more information on Vitalant’s first-time donor webpage. Student workers on the quad will also be able to answer questions, Sawadogo said.

Appointment slots are between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. and although walk-ups are welcome, sign ups are encouraged ahead of time. Appointments can be made online here with the code “COAlameda”.

About the Contributor
Eliot Faine
Eliot Faine, Staff Writer
Eliot Faine (he/they) is a returning community college student and Journalism major. The empowerment of self determination motivates their work, and he believes the most autonomous venue is to arm communities with the truth. Sword, meet pen. Eliot opens themselves to learning something new every day, and will generally try anything at least twice. They are particularly interested in penning the stories from communities and their leaders in the movement towards a more just society.
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