“I saved three lives today.”

First year animal science student Kimberly Monterrosa said, as she got out of the chair to grab some snacks with her wrapped arm.

Monterrosa has had a passion for donating blood ever since she was in a serious medical situation and needed a blood transfusion. This is Monterrosa’s tenth time donating blood, and she enjoys giving back to those in need.

“I was very fortunate to have a person in the waiting room donate to help save my life,” Monterrosa said. “Now I enjoy giving back just in case there is someone who might be in the same situation that I was once in, or just knowing you’re helping save a life is rewarding.”

This week the American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive that started on Monday and will continue until Friday. Students and faculty can participate as a donor or a volunteer. The blood drive takes place in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

The supervisor of the team three years running, Greg Smith, is in charge of the preparation and organization of the entire week. His interest in donating blood was sparked by his previous field in trauma, which led to him to the blood drive.

The preparation for just one week here at Oregon State University takes about six months, according to Smith.

“Because we run 364 days a year, it is kind of a controlled chaos. We have to make sure all of our equipment is ready, check all of our stuff twice, make sure we are bringing everything we can so we can provide good service to all the students and faculty here,” Smith said.

Smith and his team members are based in Salem, however some of the staff and nurses involved this week are from the all over Oregon.

“Pretty much I-5, we all converge to Corvallis for a while,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the blood is all primarily shipped to hospitals for human use in cases for traumas, mothers after birth and for people who have red cell therapy.

For people who were unable to donate blood or uncomfortable with donating blood, the option of volunteering was available.

First year kinesiology student Christina Cafferata heard about the blood drive through her sorority Sigma Delta Omega, and was excited to have the opportunity to pitch in and meet new people.

“We have a couple members in the blood drive association, so we try to help out as much as we can,” Cafferata said. “This is my third term volunteering. I can’t donate blood so I like volunteering because I can help out. Monday I volunteered two hours and on Wednesday I’m volunteering for two more.”

Smith enjoys the blood drive so much and how students at OSU make an impact.

“I just like seeing all the motivation from the students, obviously because we are such a large drive that the wait time can be larger but that’s because we have such a high-show rate. There are just so many people that want to give. It makes me proud of what I’m doing,” Smith said.

The blood drive is every day this week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Students and faculty can book appointments or walk in.