This year, for the first time, community members can help raise money for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon while donating blood to the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross has pledged to donate $2 to Thon for every pint of blood collected at a series of local blood drives.

First-time donor Rachel Heist (junior-special education) participated in a drive yesterday afternoon.

She said the people working at the drive made her feel comfortable and fixed any problems she had right away.

"It's not bad at all," she said, adding that she decided to donate blood because it's for a good cause.

Wendi Keeler, Red Cross field representative, said the local office has been raising money for Thon since December.

The Red Cross will make a final donation to Thon on Sunday, based on donations received at drives through this weekend and the projections of two drives next week, Keeler said.

Before yesterday's drive, the fundraiser had collected $3,322 for Thon, Keeler said.

In December $370 was collected and $2,982 was collected in January and February, she added.

Keeler said the donation process takes about an hour. First, donors fill out paperwork, then they meet with a nurse and they get their blood pressure, temperature and hemoglobin tested, she said.

If the Red Cross staff find the donor is safe to give blood — if the prospective donor does not have an irregular blood pressure or low iron — they will proceed to the donation table, where the process will take less than 15 minutes, Keeler said.

She said the best advice she can give first-time donors is to drink a lot of fluid, make sure they have eaten something substantial at least three hours before their donation, and not be afraid.

"It's very important that you eat before you donate," she stressed.

The drive has been part of the Points for Pints program that the Red Cross has installed at colleges across the country, she said.

She said the organization is trying to get college students to start donating early in their adult lives so they will continue to do so throughout their lives.

Keeler said Thon's mission is directly related to that of the Red Cross — people with cancer often need blood transfusions.

"It's just such a natural connection," she said. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."

All of the money the Red Cross is donating to Thon is coming from the budget of the organization's Greater Allegheny Region office, Keeler said. None of it is coming from the money raised for disaster relief after Sept. 11, she added.

The blood that is donated at Penn State goes first to a site in Johnstown to be processed, Keeler said.

It then can travel to any of more than 100 counties the local chapter serves, stretching from northern Kentucky to Pennsylvania, she added.

Patients who receive the donations will not have to pay for the actual blood, but they will have to pay a processing fee to reimburse the Red Cross for its costs, Keeler said.

Jonathan Coleman (senior-aerospace engineering) said his first time donating was fairly easy.

"The process was pretty streamlined," he said afterwards. "I feel fine."

Keeler said the mild pain some donors experience is well worth it.

"The feeling that you get after you donate is tremendous," she said, adding that three to four lives are positively affected by each donation.