More than 100 people dropped in at the recent World Blood Donor Day activities on the UCF campus.
The 106 participants, all wearing red shirts, were part of a photo representing a giant drop of blood. Those who were in the photo were included on an electronic “honor wall,” and a copy of the picture was taken for the World Health Organization, which sponsors the annual World Blood Donor Day.
Also during the day, 38 people donated blood at either the main campus or the medical school campus at Lake Nona, and more than 50 visited the blood-typing tent.
This was the first major World Blood Donor Day in Central Florida, and the sponsoring Florida’s Blood Centers and Pint Club plan to make this an annual June 14 event, organizers said.
World Blood Donor Day is observed around globe to raise awareness of the need for blood donation and to thank all voluntary donors for their life-saving gift. Anyone may one day need blood for themselves or a loved one, but less than 40 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate and only about 5 percent of eligible donors give blood.
The UCF event committee included Tee Rogers, Marielis Martinez, Jennifer Carlson and Denise Lloyd.