Students, Athens Community Turn Out For Athens County's Biggest Ever Bone Marrow and Blood Drive

Contact: Tia Trivison, Mgr., Marketing & PR For Clinic Services, (740) 593-9572

ATHENS, Ohio (January 23, 2001) -- A record setting crowd of 250 people turned out at the Convo yesterday to support the University Osteopathic Medical Center (UOMC) and OU Athletics' special American Red Cross Bone Marrow and Blood Drive held in honor of 5-yr-old Kyle Hellyer of Glouster, who will undergo bone marrow transplantation in Minnesota in the next few weeks.

According to Red Cross Blood Services Representative, Lori Gaitten, "this is the largest single-day turnout ever recorded in Athens County in terms of blood collection or the bone marrow registry! The blood we collected will help bolster our current blood reserves tremendously."

UOMC Marketing Manager and drive coordinator Tia Trivison reported, "We are thrilled that, thanks to the phenomenal team effort including help from 30 volunteers, and food and prizes donated from local businesses, we met our goal of collecting 150 pints of blood and exceeded our goal of registering 100 people on the National Marrow Donor Registry by attracting 160 potential bone marrow donors!"

The American Red Cross reports that their national inventory of blood has been below critical levels since the first of the year. The Central Ohio RedCross Blood Services Region, which includes 27 counties serving 54 hospitals (Athens county and the two hospitals O'Bleness Memorial and Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville are within this area), has seen a steady increase in demand for blood over the last several months, outpacing donations. The Region must collect 500 pints of blood each day to keep these hospitals stocked with enough blood to cover patient needs.

This week's blood drive on campus covered more than one quarter of their daily need. In addition, Red Cross officials report that 42 donors with type O blood, the universal blood type, and 56 or a whopping thirty-three percent of first-time donors came out for this blood drive.

The breakdown of individuals registering on the National Marrow Donor Registry was as follows:

• 160 total registrants
• 139 Caucasian
• 11 African American
• 3 Hispanic
• 4 Asian/Pacific Islander
• 3 Native American

The breakdown for blood donors was:

• 182 presenting blood donors
• 150 pints of blood successfully collected
• 56 first-time donors

A-	5	A+	35
B-	2	B+	9
O-	11	O+	31
AB-	0	AB+	1

56 donors yet to be typed.

Trivison added, "Another rewarding feature of our blood drive was being able to provide a sumptuous canteen refreshment area featuring great food from the generous folks at Avalanche Pizza, Courtside Pizza, Pizza Hut, Miller's Chicken, Mistretta's Italian Market, Papa Johns Pizza, DP Dough, Zachary's Delicatessen, Seven Sauces, Tomatillo's Restaurant, and W.G. Grinders. Also, several lucky donors were winners in the raffle with prizes provided through the generosity of American Red Cross, FrogNet, Little Professor Book Center, OU Athletics, Therapeutic Touch, and WellWorks.

These gifts, in addition to the good feeling one gets when helping someone else, were special ways to thank donors for taking the time to give blood.

The Hellyer Family, American Red Cross, University Osteopathic Medical Center and OU Athletics extend their sincere thanks to all who supported the bone marrow and blood drive.