Blood Drive Makes Historic Return to Campus After 20 Year Ban

Willa Dana ‘26

On Apr. 15, 2024, Sarah Lawrence hosted the first on campus blood drive in over 20 years in the Barbara Walters Campus Center. Nearly 60 students signed up to donate, but very few were aware of the historical significance their donation held. 

In the fall of 2003, Sarah Lawrence students gathered to participate in a blood drive held on campus. When students lined up, they were asked to fill out a Donor History Questionnaire to determine their eligibility for donating. But the exclusionary Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines posed on the questionnaire sparked a school-wide controversy that lasted nearly two decades. 

At an institution that champions diversity and acceptance, the presence of FDA regulations singling out men who have sex with other men (MSM) struck a discordant note in the school community. The college now had to reconcile itself with policies that implicitly discriminated against a large portion of the student body.  

This tension reached a boiling point in the 2004–2005 academic year. Faced with mounting student frustration, the Committee on Student Life placed an indefinite ban on any blood mobiles and blood drives on campus, citing the violation of the SLC Non-Discrimination Policy. 

Over the next decade, as the nation experienced a blood shortage, the debate on the ban continued amongst student organizations. A series of letters sent by the Committee of Student Life to the New York Blood Center from 2006–2010 urged the organization to take public action to have the FDA restrictions removed before the bloodmobile was allowed back on campus. Although the New York Blood Center commended the school’s values, they refused to take a public stance on the matter. 

In May 2023, the FDA finally reformed the blood donor screening process to reflect individual donor assessment as opposed to sexual or gender identity. Now, each donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be asked if they have had new/multiple sexual partners in the past several months. They will only be asked if they have had recent anal sex if they answer yes to the previous question. In response to this, a group of determined Sarah Lawrence pre-health students, including Tashvi Anand ‘24 and Laura Carrie ‘26, took to the Committee of Student Life and, in a unanimous vote, overturned the blood drive ban on campus.

Anaiya Epps ‘25 was also involved in this effort. Epps is on the pre-health track, and has plans to become a physician associate. After the ban was overturned, she quickly set to researching potential organizations to partner with in anticipation of the first potential blood drive on campus. Several months later, the American Red Cross (ARC) was chosen as the partner organization. “We saw that the ARC donated money to Gaza efforts,” said Epps. “It was important to us that whoever we worked with supported Palestine and [ARC’s] global network has put in a lot of effort to support Palestine along with some of their humanitarians even losing their lives to help. That really sealed the deal for us. We may not have been able to directly donate blood for them, but we were able to help a company who was helping innocent people.”

With this, the date for the blood drive was set. The longstanding dream of an on campus blood drive finally became a reality. 

As the American Red Cross set up their booth in the campus center, the room was filled with a palpable sense of solidarity as nervous first time donors checked in. Epps’s excitement and passion for healthcare shone through as she spoke to student donors and ensured the blood drive ran smoothly. Her bubbly energy, sense of humor, and unwavering smile instilled confidence and support in everyone involved. As the last students filed out of the donation room, I was able to speak to her about the significance of the event and the important role of healthcare in her life. 

As a queer woman and pre-health student, Epps was uniquely positioned when it came to the discourse surrounding the on-campus blood drive. “There is still change that needs to happen,” Epps said, “but the updated FDA regulations bring us a big step forward. Our generation is losing our sense of community. We need to focus on what is most important in the current state of the world—we need to help our neighbors.” 

And clearly, many others shared this mindset. Every single available donation slot had been booked for the day, and even more students were asking when the next blood drive would be held. Although there is no definite answer to this question yet, Epps intends to keep it up. 

“I’ve always had a passion for healthcare,” Epps said, smiling. But when asked about her personal connection to healthcare and blood drives, Epp’s enthusiastic expression faded somewhat. “Over winter break, I lost my brother. If he had made it to the hospital, he would have needed a blood transfusion.”

Epps wants to do everything she can to ensure others do not have to go through the same grief she went through. “No one should be held back from achieving their goals due to medical restrictions. Anyone you know could need a blood transfusion at any point, and you never know when you might need one yourself. So if I’m in any position to help, I will.”