Under the watchful attention of New Jersey Blood Services technicians, Prep students, teachers and administrators rolled up their sleeves to help save lives.

Members of the Prep community rolled up their sleeves to save lives Thursday, as part of Prep's annual Blood Drive, in cooperation with New Jersey Blood Services.

Blood Services technicians transformed the Siperstein Library into a donation center for the day, as students, teachers and administrators literally gave of themselves throughout the day in an effort to help local hospitals save lives. Once again, donors had the option of giving one pint of whole blood, or two units of red cells through the use of the ALYX apheresis system.

Seniors Josh Barry and Will Cretinon worked as Student Directors to help organize and promote this lifesaving campaign, with the oversight of Mr. Dave Lagerstrom of the science department; Ms. Maureen Sheppard, R.N., Prep's school nurse; and Mr. Dan Healy, '01, the assistant dean of students. As a steady flow of prospective donors circulated through the library at midday, Barry was sanguine about his hopes for the day's totals. Observing the activity, he remarked  "We were hoping to match last year's turnout, which was about 120 donors [including some who were turned away due to limited capacity], but we could be on pace for as many as 150, which would really be excellent."

UPDATE: According to Diane Granstrom, New Jersey Blood Services account manager for donor recruitment, Thursday's efforts yielded a Prep-record 145 units of donated blood, comprising 79 units of whole blood and "an unprcedented 66 [units of] red cells from ALYX." The donations have the potential to help area hospitals save the lives of as many as 300 patients.