Frat holds blood drive on campus

To celebrate the season of giving, UH students gathered outside of Agnes Arnold Hall on Monday to give blood at the Sigma Chi fraternity’s blood drive.

“We want people to know we’re not just here to party,” said Andrew Taghi, Sigma Chi head of public relations for the Fall 2011 pledge class. “We want to give back and help others.”

Taghi, a junior majoring in petroleum engineering, is enjoying his first year at UH after transferring from the University of Texas.

“I decided to rush a fraternity because I felt like it was a good way to meet people at a new school,” he said. “I felt Sigma Chi was the right choice for me — I’m glad I did it.”

Taghi spent the past month advertising for the blood drive on Facebook and on campus. He posted fliers on buildings like the M. D. Anderson Memorial Library and the College of Engineering. Taghi said he got the idea for a blood drive from seeing one on campus.

“I would love to have another blood drive,” Taghi said. “I really enjoyed it and seeing the huge turnout.”

According to one of the nurses at the blood drive site, it was a much larger turnout than usual. Taghi was informed that most blood drives for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center at UH attract around eight or nine people. This blood drive brought in around 30 people wanting to donate blood. There were six nurses at the site and four stations for donating blood.

Sigma Chi member Colton Filthaut, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, was present on Monday to donate blood along with his fellow fraternity brothers.

“I wanted to give to others because of my rare blood type,” Colton said. His blood type, O-, is the universal donor because anyone can accept it in a transfusion.

Taghi will receive the results of how much blood was donated and the names of the donors in a few weeks from Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center representative Katie Nippers, who helped Taghi organize the drive. Any students interested in donating blood can visit the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center website at www.giveblood.org for more information.

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