Every year Penn State and Michigan State have a competitive blood drive to see who can donate the most blood from within the two campuses. This year is the 17th annual blood drive and it goes from November 1-November 18. The current score for this year’s blood drive is PSU – 823 and MSU – 987. Penn State has taken the win the past four years and there is still hope that we can pull through and win this year. It is a friendly competition but it adds an extra push to get the students to come out and donate blood.
After speaking with a Red Cross worker at the blood drive I came to realize that the United States is not so different than other countries in the health department. The most obvious reason for the blood drive is to donate blood for the many people in the United States who are in need of blood for several different reasons. The Red Cross worker explained to me that they do the blood drive in November because during the holidays is when the demand for blood is at its highest, yet the donators are sparse. I found this interesting because the demand for blood is just as high in the United States as it is in many other countries that may be less developed than the U.S.
The United States is not all that different from some other countries. Every country around the world is in need of blood donations for many different reasons and the United States is no exception to that. There is not one country in the whole world that is perfect without facing different issues, such as health issues, economic issues, etc. The issues that countries face may be worse in certain places but there is no country that is perfect.
One pint of blood can save three lives! I think it's great that schools try and get students involved to donate. Rutgers also has blood drives throughout the year, but I think it's great that Penn State and Michigan have some friendly competition to get even more people to come out and donate blood!
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