According to the American Red Cross, most people who don't donate blood do so because they never thought about it or because they're afraid of needles.
Ohio University psychology professor Chris France is conducting a study and pairing with the Red Cross in hopes of increasing the return rate of blood donors.
The National Institutes of Health awarded more than $1 million in grant funding to the study, which focuses on making first-time donors loyal givers, France said.
France's study looks at using techniques to prevent drops in blood pressure and negative reactions in donors, said Dr. Mary Ellen Wissel of the American Red Cross Blood Service Central Ohio Region. These techniques are drinking water immediately before giving blood and flexing arm and leg muscles while giving blood.
The study classifies 400 first-time donors from Central Ohio and Athens into four groups: one group drinks water before donation, one's members flex their arm or leg muscles during donation, one uses both techniques and one is a control group, Wissel said. Participants then complete a survey about their experiences.
To judge the effectiveness of the techniques, France checks the American Red Cross database two years after the date of a participant's first donation to see whether or not the participant has donated again.
The study, which began in 2006, is ongoing.
First-time donors may experience dizziness, sweating, anxiety or faintness before, during and after blood donation.The probability of losing consciousness is less than 1 percent, France said. Feeling mildly lightheaded is not uncommon, but only occurs in about 10 to 15 percent of donors. The more you give the less likely lightheadedness becomes, he said. France encouraged people to eat a good meal, get some sleep and drink a bottle of water right before donating to prevent such reactions.
Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood, and one pint of blood can potentially save three lives, according to the Red Cross.
(Donating blood) is important
and people need it said sophomore Shantl Hammett, who has donated blood six or seven times.
Because of adverse weather, especially in the winter, people cancel blood drives, causing blood deficits at the Red Cross, Wissel said.
Nationwide the figure commonly is 5 percent to 6 percent of people actually donate blood
said Wissel, adding that the Central Ohio Region of the Red Cross Blood Service needs about 650 pints of blood a day. The number of pints collected varies daily, though is sometimes as low as 500 pints, Wissel said.
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Ohio University freshman Shinice Johnson watches while Rocco Johnson gets ready to pull out her needle. This is Shinice's second time giving blood. "I hate when they take it out," she said, adding jokingly, "I think I taste blood."
