If you ever wanted to make a difference in the community, California Lutheran University’s Community Service Center makes it easy. The center focuses on bringing Cal Lutheran’s mission to life and teaches students just how quick and simple they can help their community. Every semester a blood drive is put together in order for students and faculty to donate blood to those in need.

“We can’t stock pile blood so we have to constantly get donors to donate,” Dana Swails, a nurse at United Blood Services, said. “The way we collect the blood it is only good for  days, so we go to different communities to get as much as we can.”

According to united-bloodservices.org, United Blood Services is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood and blood products to local hospitals.  This specific center makes it easier for communities to participate in donating by traveling to schools and other places accessible to community members.

“I donated blood a lot,” Bryan Swig, a biology professor at Cal Lutheran, said.  “It is just an easy way to help out because it is so convenient when it is right on campus and you don’t have to go too far to do something good for the community.”

With the semester being well underway, students appreciate the accessibility to events like this as well.

“This is my second time I am donating blood,” Sean Nobuta, an economic major at Cal Lutheran, said. “I would like to do it more often but I just never had the time to go out and find places to donate so it is cool that they come to our campus.”

Donating blood is one of the simplest ways to make a difference in the world and in the community. It may be a small gesture but it can have a huge impact.

“If we didn’t have anyone to donate blood or a place to come to get the donation we would have to buy blood from outside of the county which is very expensive and in turn the cost would go to the patient and there is no guarantee we would actually have blood available for the person,” Swails said.

According to the Cal Lutheran Student Life website, “every three seconds someone needs a blood transfusion, yet less that 4 percent of those eligible to give blood do.”

Many people may not realize that their blood can potentially help someone in need and they will not unless they participate in events like blood drives.

“It’s important especially when you think of things like Sickle Cell,” Swig said. “Without blood donations those people have a really difficult time. Donating blood can help people who have been in accidents, or people with genetic disorders who need blood transfusions.”

The donating process can be done during a break between classes or studying.

“The process is pretty pain free and doesn’t take very long. In the half hour you spend here you can make a difference,” Swig said.

For more information about different community service events visit the Community Service Center website under Cal Lutheran’s Student Life.

“It is something small that I am doing but it can help someone. I really just enjoy the process of how simple it is to make a difference and it is nice that the university puts on events like this,” Nobuta said.

Islamiyah Arogundade
Staff Writer
Published October 21st, 2015