The Pre-Health Society and Student Health Advisory Council ended the month of March with a collaboration to host the annual Red Cross Blood Drive. 

A long list of volunteers and a full sign-up sheet of appointments accompanied this year’s blood drive. Matthew Morris ’23, president of the Student Health Advisory Council, said that he helped with the organization of volunteers along with the Vice President of the Student Health Advisory Council Elaina Mufareh ’23. 

“The Loyola community is really good at coming together for something like this. As Andrea said, the appointments were filled up very quickly and we tried to make more actually, but we were not able to because of its capacity. And the same applied to volunteers. A lot of people quickly signed up and were willing to come out to help out. I think the Loyola community is good at doing stuff like this, especially the pre-health community,” Morris said. 

This opportunity to donate blood is a way for students, faculty, and staff to give back to the Baltimore community and do something good. The annual blood drive has proven to be successful every year. 

“I know there has been a blood supply shortage for a couple of months now, but the blood drive is something we have every year, regardless of the shortage or not. We had the sign-up sheet for the appointments and in 24 hours they were all filled. A lot of people want to donate blood which is awesome. We have it every year, regardless of shortage or not. We wish we could have it more than once, but there is a lot that goes into it. So, we can’t have it every 2-3 months,” said the President of the Pre-Health Society, Andrea Cabrera ’23.  

Loyola’s community is committed to service, especially because of its core Jesuit values. Mufareh says that the volunteer’s willingness to help speaks to the spirit of people here at Loyola. 

“I think it’s awesome, especially because we have such a small campus, but as Matt said we filled up every slot for volunteers and appointments in less than 24 hours. So that speaks a lot about the kind of students we have here and their willingness to help,” Cabrera said. 

The Loyola community was able to come together for the blood drive, exceeding expectations of filling up every open volunteer spot, proving as a success. Cabrera, Morris, and Mufareh suggest students take part in the Student Health Advisory Council. 

Morris said, “If anyone wants to get involved, the Student Health Advisory Council has various events throughout the year. We helped out a lot with the Flu Shot Clinic and we are helping out with the blood drive now. They can follow our Instagram: @LoyolaSHAC.”