August 22, 2008

UAlbany Ranks No. 1 Among SUNY Schools in Giving Blood

The University at Albany is the leader among all State University of New York schools in blood donations to the American Red Cross.

UAlbany collected 734 more units of blood this year than last, securing first place among the four-year schools as well as among all SUNY schools.

American Red Cross officials recently presented plaques to Vice President for Student Success Christine Bouchard, and to Nick Fahrenkopf of Castleton, N.Y., a UAlbany graduate student. Fahrenkopf, an active member of a sponsor recruitment team, personally recruited a high number of donors, and helped boost donations by hosting two of the most successful blood drives in recent memory � each gathering more than 100 units. As a result, the May 2008 UAlbany graduate and physics major won a $2,000 scholarship from the Red Cross. He is now a graduate student at the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering.

"I'm so proud of Nick Fahrenkopf for winning the American Red Cross scholarship," said Bouchard. "This recognition is a testament to the social conscience of the members of the University at Albany community, who in greater and greater numbers are donating blood and saving lives."

"I'm happy that I've been able to help the Red Cross increase the number of units collected, and I�m enormously thankful to each person who has helped save a life by donating blood," Fahrenkopf said.

UAlbany, with an undergraduate enrollment of 12,748, collected 1,687 units of blood in 2007-2008, and 953 units in 2006-2007. In 2007-2008, there were 33 blood drives at UAlbany, up from 27 in 2006-2007.

Last year the American Red Cross launched an incentive program to boost donations from SUNY schools because collections remained at 10,000 units per year, even as enrollment grew and the need of hospitals for blood increased dramatically. Through this initiative, UAlbany was required to donate more than 225 extra units of blood from Aug. 1, 2007-May 16, 2008, to qualify for the $2,000 scholarship. The University far exceeded that goal.

Across SUNY four-year schools, collections were up 19 percent as a result of the incentives.

 

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