Photo by: Cameron Lemmon
Bonfils held a two-day blood drive at the University of Denver last week in the Driscoll Ballroom. For the first time, the blood drive was organized and sponsored by DU’s Greek Life although Bonfils has made several past visits to the university.
“We’ve been coming here for years,” said community donor representative Diane Gibason. “The students have always been willing to donate and very generous.”
From any of the frequent blood drives at DU, Bonfils collects about 100 units of blood. Keeping in mind that one unit saves about three lives, it’s a worthwhile effort.
“It’s not a bad experience,” said Matt Papa, a fourth-year, 3-2 student at DU. Papa has been donating since high school, following the lead of his parents who have been donating “forever.”
Donors, like the students and teachers that attended the blood drive, help Bonfils supply blood all across the state.
“Our primary focus is supplying blood to Colorado,” said Gibason. About 80 percent of Colorado now has a Bonfils representative and currently hold regular blood drives. All these collections supply blood to 200 hospitals and clinics across Colorado.
“We are always ready for emergency situations too,” Gibason said. “We even have contracts with Taxi Companies.”
In any emergency across the state Blood from Bonfils can get to a patient in a moment’s notice…even if the blood comes by cab.
Although the blood collected is primarily used in Colorado, there is often extra, and almost never waste.
“Blood is only good for 42 days after it is collected, but we use almost 97 percent of the blood we collect,” said Gibason. Generous donations which supply extra blood have gone to all sorts of causes.
The Bonfils plane was the second plane allowed in the air after the 9-11 attacks, and was a weekly supplier of blood to the victims of Katrina.
If you missed the chance to donate this time, Bonfils will probably be back shortly.
“We come to this location about 4 times a year,” said Gibason. They should be back in Driscoll shortly, and will have various drive locations across campus throughout the year.
