Community gives over 300 pints of blood in honor of Aimee Copeland
Dozens of USC students, faculty and staff stopped by the Sigma Phi Epsilon house Monday to give their blood in honor of Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate who remains in an Augusta hospital after a tragic accident and rare flesh-eating bacteria forced the amputation of her hands, left leg and right foot.
After his daughter went through 200 units of blood within the first few weeks of being in the hospital, Aimee’s father Andy Copeland, a 1983 graduate of USC, asked the alumni associations of both USC and his daughter’s alma mater to host a competitive blood drive in Aimee’s honor. My Carolina Alumni Association worked with USC faculty and staff to organize Monday’s “Border Bash” blood drive in the Greek Village.
Katie Rudder, a third-year marketing student and Red Cross intern, was one of the donors. Though she donates blood regularly, Rudder decided to wait for this week’s event because of its special meaning and ties to the Gamecock community.
“I love giving blood, especially when there’s a little bit of a competition element between USC and UGA,” Rudder said.
Andy Copeland made an appearance at the beginning of the blood drive to express his appreciation for the support of his fellow Gamecocks.
“I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Copeland, Aimee’s dad, and he was so positive and very inspiring. He gave us a hearty ‘Go Gamecocks!’ before he left. It was definitely an inspiring and quite powerful moment to meet him,” Rudder said.
By 2 p.m., 50 donors had come by the drive to give their blood in Aimee’s name, according to Lauren Way, the Red Cross’s marketing manager.
Rudder heard about the story through the Red Cross about a week ago. She did some research and followed Andy Copeland’s blog.
“It really kind of hit home, especially for college kids and people our age. To think that something like this could really happen was scary,” said Rudder.
The USC community came together and donated more than 300 units of blood, according to WSBTV Action News.Donors also signed a banner at the blood drive to show their love and support to the Copeland family. The banner will be moved to Aimee Copeland’s hospital room after she is moved out of the ICU.
“This is our job every day, but when you put a face with what we do, it just makes it all the more important,” said Dienna Wright, a Red Cross team supervisor. “It brings back the importance of what we do and why we do it.”
The Red Cross will be accepting donations on behalf of Copeland this week on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the donation center at 2751 Bull St.