Members of the community came to the Fitness Center on Feb. 9 for the first blood drive of the semester, hosted by the American Red Cross and Pre-Professional Health Sciences.

The goal was to have 33 usable donations, but the drive netted a total of 38.

“Through the generosity of  those donating, we potentially saved 114 lives because each donation can save up to three lives,” said Katie Goff, Program Coordinator of Pre-Professional Health Sciences.

Breanna Weaver, junior, donated for her fifth time.

“It feels good,” she said. “I like giving back and helping people, so it’s just good to know that I’m helping someone,” she said.

There were student volunteers from Goff’s classes who helped with signing in donors and staffing the treat table when people were done donating.

“It feels great being able to help, and it’s a good feeling to know you can just be a part of people being able to give blood and help out the community a little bit,” said Kenneth Lokie, sophomore. “It’s nice to know that you’re making some kind of impact, even though you’re not directly giving blood (to someone).”

There was a total of 44 slots available for donors, and there were three walk-ins as well. With this, the blood drive became overbooked and was not able to accommodate walk-ins later on.

“This is the perfect opportunity for anatomy and physiology students to serve their local community while putting into play concepts about the human body that we’ve been focusing on for almost a year,” Goff said.

The next blood drive is planned for Tues., April, 11 in the Fitness Center.

“People who donated at the drive we just held on Feb. 9 will be eligible to donate again because they have met the American Red Cross requirement of 56 days between donations,” Goff said.