On Thursday, Oct. 24, Johnson State College hosted its annual fall American Red Cross Blood Drive. Students, staff, faculty and community members combined for 122 appointments that produced 110 units of life-saving blood.

This fall’s tally was 10 percent above last spring’s drive, which yielded 100 pints, the lowest since 2008. Last Thursday’s drive marks the 11th straight time JSC has at least reached the 100 unit mark.

Additional staffing was provided by 22 JSC and Johnson community volunteers.

According to the Red Cross, blood only has a shelf-life of about six weeks, which is why it is always in such high demand. The blood is used to save lives, going to patients with massive blood-loss, such as the victims of car accidents, children with blood disorders and patients with cancer.

Each unit of blood donated can aid up to three people.

JSC volunteers participated through the college’s SERVE program, which sponsors community-service events throughout the year to connect students to the community, meets the needs of community partners and helps develop students’ leadership skills.
Food donors for this event included JSC Dining Services, Morrisville Dunkin Donuts and Morrisville Hannaford.

The drive was co-sponsored by JSC and the Vermont Electric Co-Op.