Several years ago, a student at one of our local universitys passed away.
Since then, there has been an annual fundraiser and blood drive in his memory.
Many of the people I know have participated for years and one of my friends convinced me to go along this year. When my buddy and I arrived the lines were long however at least my buddy and I were in a building. You see, it was the middle of February and the outside hot and cold temperatures were in the low 20’s. My friend and I all waited our turn and because the door kept opening and closing the room was still entirely cold. I was thankful when they called us to go into the donation room and hopeful that it would be warmer. My friend and I went through screening and sat comfortably for the next chairs to open up; I was a little nervous because I hadn’t donated blood in a few years, but I had come this far and wasn’t backing out now. When my time arrived everything was going great when I suddenly felt entirely cold. I am not sure if it was nerves, the room temperature, or just the fact that my blood was lower but I found myself shivering. I undoubtedly just wanted a big blanket to moderate myself up. I asked the serviceman if they could turn up the heat but he said that they had no control over it. It was set by the landlord. He apologized and said that there was warm coffee in the waiting room when I was finished donating. I undoubtedly feel that they need to take room temperature into account when they hold events like this. I am sure if they make arrangements ahead of time, the facility will boost the temperature for the few hours that they are holding donations.