Though not currently shedding blood on battlefields abroad, VMI cadets are doing so stateside, helping the American Red Cross by donating much-needed blood for the Millennium. A special faculty and staff collection will take place February 1 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. According to Ella Gay Potter, Red Cross coordinator of volunteers, blood is desperately needed after Hurricane Floyd canceled nearly a dozen blood-drives and depleted blood bank resources.
Blood is also in high demand heading into the new millennium.
Hall noted that although the holidays are usually a high donation time because many donors are on vacation, this year will be different, as many offices plan on working through the holidays to ensure a smooth technological transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. Although The Red Cross has increased collections by nearly 500,000 units over the past two years and has surpassed the 6 million-unit collection mark for the first time since 1992, increased demands, like Hurricane Floyd and the onset of Y2K, continue to offset these gains. VMI, one of the largest blood donors per capita in the region, has been participating in blood drives with the Red Cross for at least 50 years. In the past few years, fewer cadets have been able to donate to the cause, said Hall, because of the upsurge of students studying in countries with possible contaminants. Travel abroad often disqualifies blood donors for one year, which decreases the potential donor pool.