Bleed the Way

Last November's Yale game did more than place a clammy hand on the end of the football season. It also put a decided crimp in the Phillips Brooks House blood drive, when an alarmingly high percentage of would-be donors were regretfully turned away from the operating table. Too much alcohol in their veins, the doctors said; and the campaign fell short of its goal. Today another drive begins, and with the perils of a Big Weekend safely past, PBH officers dare to hope that the 200-pint quota will be met.

The operation itself is a relatively minor event. Some donors have even admitted that they rather enjoyed it. Student entertainment, of course, isn't the prime object of the undertaking. But since at worst it is painless and quick, all the needling of the student body should be left to the doctors and not to the overworked crew of PBH campaigners.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the blood drive is the collection equipment itself. On March 4, one of the Commonwealth's snappy new "bloodmobiles" will roll up outside of Brooks House for two days of vein-tapping. The "bloodmobile" is a specially-constructed vehicle that goes from town to town throughout the year, following the same general principle of the traveling libraries that wander over backwoods areas. Instead of landing books, the "bloodmobile" simply borrows blood, with the understanding that the blood will be returned if the donor needs it is a hurry, and quite possible with interest.