Among USC’s countless service events is the annual Carolina-Clemson Blood Drive, which kicked off again Monday. While it’s easy to see the immediate effect of volunteering at a soup kitchen or adopting a pet from a shelter, too often, donating blood falls to the wayside.
At least, it does in Clemson. USC has handily defeated Clemson on the football field for four (soon to be five) years now, and it may be thanks to the Tigers’ routine declawing in the blood drive the week prior. Should USC win again, it will extend its streak to six blood drives in a row.
Nonetheless, now is no time to get cocky. Whether it concerns football or the blood drive, we still need to show up and earn the victory. Sure, a win over Clemson should be motivation enough, but given the nature of donating blood, sometimes the squeamish need added incentive.
There is absolutely no substitute for human blood, so your donation directly contributes to saving the lives of others. Shortages occur far too often, especially this time of year when the weather and holiday travel decrease donations and increase demand. You may not have guessed it, but someone needs blood every two seconds in the United States alone; that’s a lot of blood. It’s grim, but blood shortages lead to lives lost that could have otherwise been easily saved.
Thankfully, we’re here to pick up the slack, but we can’t do it on our own. We want USC to get a better turnout each and every year, but it wouldn’t hurt if Clemson stepped up its game. An even stiffer competition benefits everyone, so long as Clemson still donates slightly less than us.