With the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon just around the corner, the Penn State Student Red Cross Club and Thon have paired up for the fifth annual Thon blood drive.

The blood drives began Monday and will continue until the end of Thon weekend Feb. 19.

There will be 28 drives held at various locations and times throughout campus.

For every pint of blood collected until Thon weekend, the American Red Cross will donate $2 to the Four Diamonds Fund, said Wendi Keeler, adviser of the Red Cross Club.

In 2001, the first year of the partnership, only University Park participated in the drives.

This year, nine Commonwealth Campuses will be participating, which Keeler said is a record high.

"There have been huge benefits for the American Red Cross through this partnership," Keeler said.

"Prior to our relationship with Thon during the winter season, only 1,300 units of blood were collected. Last year, 2,869 units of blood were collected through the drives with over 300 first-time donors," she added.

Many first-time donors come to these drives because they are looking to help raise money for their specific student organizations or to help cancer patients receive blood, said Public Relations Intern of the Red Cross Club Natalie Eckman.

"Right now, the demand for blood has exceeded its supply," Eckman said. "These drives build awareness and help to get the word out. Students can choose which group or organization receives the money from their donations, which is also an incentive to donate."

The relationship between the Red Cross Club and Thon also stems from the reaction donors have while giving blood throughout this time of year, Brian Ault, Red Cross Club treasurer, said.

"There is more of an emotional aspect to the Thon blood drives," Ault said.

"After the students see these kids, their reactions are stronger and they are more willing to donate blood," he added.

To accentuate this point, the Red Cross Club will be sponsoring speaker Lauren Larsen tonight at 7 in 119 Osmond.

Larsen began her "give back" campaign in 2001, a year after she delivered her first child through an emergency cesarean section, triggering critical medical conditions and leaving her in critical condition for five weeks.

"I never thought that something like this could have happened to me," she said.

"It is the unexpected events that make the need for blood constant. There are real people behind every single bag of blood, and without them, I would not be alive," she added.

Keeler said she hopes Larsen's presentation will allow students to see that the need for regular, continuous donors is present on a daily basis.

"Volunteer donors make such an impact on people's lives, they do not even realize it. Lauren's personal account of the importance of blood donations in everyday life will bring a powerful and dynamic message to student audiences," Keeler said. "Someone needs blood every single day. Helping cancer victims, especially children, is what the Thon season is all about."