By Tyrell Ingram
Brooklyn College’s Tanger Hillel has helped save over 200 lives through each of its blood drives and will try to save even more on Thursday, Mar. 3.
Hillel will soon host its Annual March for Life Blood Drive in partnership with New York Blood Center, an independent, nonprofit blood center that will assist with the initiative.
“For every blood drive, the NYBC provides necessary equipment and highly trained staff to collect the blood donations,” said Rivkah Hornbacher, a Hillel student leader. “Over the years, they have helped us educate our Blood Drive Captains on the importance of blood drives as well as the requirements for blood donation to ensure that everyone who signs up will be eligible to donate.”
Hillel also works with the Chai Club executive board and allows BC students to help volunteer as Blood Drive Captains to help educate others about how to donate blood, according to Hornbacher.
“We motivate students to get involved by volunteering to become Blood Drive Captains,” she said. “For weeks before the drive, captains work hard to get the word out and educate the student body about the blood donation process.”
To be eligible to donate, participants must be 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, complete a medical questionnaire, and be in good physical condition.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, close to 100 people would register for the blood drives, including sign-ups and walk-ins. With those participants, Hillel collected 91-97 pints of blood per blood drive.
After the start of the pandemic, less people donated blood and the city was facing a blood shortage, according to Hornbacher. Despite the obstacles, Tanger Hillel is still determined to educate others on the importance of donating blood.
“For every pint of blood donated, three lives can potentially be saved. At each blood drive, we save over 200 lives,” she said. ”We are hoping that as more students are returning to campus, we will see the number of donations go back up this semester.”