Donation Awareness Project Blog Series
By: Margaret Mitschke, Student Assistant
Sam Houston State University Bearkats live by a motto: “The Measure of a Life is Its Service”. In the spirit of this, Student Legal and Mediation Services will be hosting its Second Annual Donation Awareness Project. This project aims to help save the lives of those in need of life-saving blood, organ, tissue, and bone marrow donations in Texas, and educate students on how they can give back to others in many different ways. This 1st blog post in the series will discuss the overall Donation Awareness Project purpose and goals, as well as how students can participate in the project.
Every year, thousands of Texans are in need of life-saving organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donations. The incredible need for these donations, and the impact one donor can have is truly astounding. For example:
- Every 10 minutes, someone new is added to the national transplant waiting list, and on average, 22 people die each day while waiting for a transplant.
- However, one organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and one eye and tissue donor can save or improve the lives of up to 50 people.
- 3 out of every 100 Americans donate blood, and every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
- However, one whole blood donation can help up to three different recipients, and actual blood donation only takes 10-12 minutes.
- Leukemia will strike 44,000 Americans this year, including 3,500 children. It will take the lives of roughly half the adults and 700 of the children.
- Bone marrow donations help those with Leukemia and other illnesses, and only 1-5% or less of your marrow is needed to save a patient’s life.
The SLMS office hopes to not only raise awareness about these important donations and what they can do for others, but to help save lives. If you are interested in donating at the blood drive on November 8th, you can make an appointment at giveblood.org, through the Digital Donor link, to save time at the event. You can also call the SLMS office to set up an appointment to donate. If you are interested in learning more about the different types of donation, please visit the following websites:
- Blood Donation – Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center: giveblood.org
- Bone Marrow Donation – Be The Match: bethematch.org
- Organ Donation – Donate Life Texas: lifegift.org
The Donation Awareness Project, along with allowing students to donate blood and sign up as donors, will also have a tabling event with different organizations from both on and off campus. Just a few of the organizations in attendance will include:
- SHSU Student Health and Counseling Center
- Annual Giving
- Huntsville Memorial Hospital
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Sciences and Engineering Technology
- Active Minds
Students will be welcome to visit the tables to get more information about the organizations, as well as get free giveaways!
There is also an opportunity for students to earn community service hours with the event. Our office will need help setting up the event, running check-in, and running the event in general. If you or your organization is interested in earning community service hours, please contact Margaret Mitschke at mem079@shsu.edu, or call the SLMS office at 936-294-1717.
For more information about Student Legal and Mediation Services, the services it provides, or to set up an appointment, please visit our website at shsu.edu/slms, give us a call at 936-294-1717, or visit our office in the Lowman Student Center, Room 330.