One hundred twenty-three members of the MTSU community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, neighbors and friends from across Middle Tennessee slogged through the rain Feb. 10 to give blood at the university’s 2020 valentine blood drive.

Their dedication resulted in 111 pints of blood to be distributed among patients in the 17 counties served by the American Red Cross Heart of Tennessee chapter: Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon, Clay, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Overton, Marshall, Moore, Pickett, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren and White counties.

Those donors’ blood and blood products also can be shared with the rest of Tennessee’s 95 counties, people in Arkansas and Mississippi, and nationwide if necessary.

Because each unit of blood can aid three different patients, the MTSU valentine drive donors are helping more than 300 people in the community.

The next MTSU blood drive is set for Monday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 322 of the Keathley University Center.

To make an appointment today to donate blood April 6, visit here, use the “American Red Cross Blood” app, or text “BLOODAPP” to 90999. Walk-in donors also will be welcome.

For more information about donating blood for the American Red Cross, visit http://redcrossblood.org anytime.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

Taylor Hatch, left, a senior exercise science major, looks over her information Feb. 10 before donating blood while senior nursing major Anna Meador sits ready to help in MTSU’s Keathley University Center during the university’s 2020 valentine blood drive. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Susan England, left, of MTSU’s Office of Budget and Financial Planning jokes with an American Red Cross blood services technician Feb. 10 in MTSU’s Keathley University Center during the university’s 2020 valentine blood drive. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Avery Garfield, right, a sophomore nursing major, cuts up with an American Red Cross blood services technician while donating blood Feb. 10 in MTSU’s Keathley University Center during the university’s 2020 valentine blood drive. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Alyssa Hawkins, a senior athletic training major, smiles while donating blood Feb. 10 in MTSU’s Keathley University Center during the university’s 2020 valentine blood drive. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Share the love, save lives: Donate blood at MTSU Feb. 10

(posted Feb. 3, 2020)

American Red Cross officials are asking the MTSU community to share the love — and its True Blue blood — among Middle Tennessee neighbors Monday, Feb. 10, during the campus 2020 valentine blood drive.

The event is set from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 10 in Room 322 inside the Keathley University Center at 1524 Military Memorial Drive in the center of campus.

A campus map is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus donors can obtain a special one-day permit at www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

This blood drive is open to MTSU students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and neighbors from across Middle Tennessee. All donors will receive a T-shirt as thanks for their lifesaving help.

Donors can make a Feb. 10 appointment here, use the “American Red Cross Blood” app, or text “BLOODAPP” to 90999. Walk-in donors also are welcome.

All donors who make an appointment before they give blood also will be eligible to win one of two pairs of free tickets to the Frist Art Museum in Nashville — perfect for a valentine date night or any other visit!

The Heart of Tennessee chapter of the American Red Cross has said that local — and national — blood supplies are extremely low, thanks to winter weather canceling blood drives and flu preventing donors from giving.

They’re asking for eligible donors of all blood types to join the MTSU drive. Platelet donors are urgently needed, and people with type O-negative blood — the “universal donor” that saves lives in emergency rooms — and O-positive, the most common type, are especially encouraged to donate.

MTSU senior aerospace major Kyle Dion watches an American Red Cross phlebotomist point out a good strong vein for him to donate blood at the university’s September 2019 “Battle of the Branches” blood drive. MTSU is sponsoring its 2020 valentine blood drive on Monday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 322 of the Keathley University Center. (MTSU file photo by James Cessna)

Blood donated at MTSU can help neighbors in all 17 counties the Heart of Tennessee chapter serves: Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon, Clay, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Overton, Marshall, Moore, Pickett, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren and White counties. Blood products also can be shared with the rest of Tennessee’s 95 counties, people in Arkansas and Mississippi, and nationwide if necessary.

MTSU community donors can save more time by completing the required health questionnaire online Feb. 10 before donating with the Red Cross’s “Rapid Pass.”

The American Red Cross must collect more than 13,000 blood donations each day nationwide to help accident victims, surgery patients, organ transplant patients and those being treated for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease. The Tennessee Valley region must collect 500 blood donations every day to meet the needs of regional hospitals.

For more information about donating blood for the American Red Cross, visit http://redcrossblood.org anytime.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

Ray Wiley, associate director of MTSU Campus Recreation and a longtime American Red Cross volunteer, listens as Red Cross employee Kenedra Baugh checks his vital signs before he donates blood at the university’s September 2019 “Battle of the Branches” blood drive. MTSU is sponsoring its 2020 valentine blood drive on Monday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 322 of the Keathley University Center. (MTSU file photo by James Cessna)