Blood Drive Winds Up After Surpassing Goal

The most successful blood drive at Harvard in recent years ended on Friday. 1.179 individuals gave blood in the drive whose goal had originally been for 1,000 donors.

The drive was highlighted by the involvement of the Vietnam Moratorium Committee. Jeffrey Nims '71, the drive's director, said that the anti-war group "gave the entire blood drive a new tone." Posters bearing the Moratorium's symbol, the peace dove, said: "Show that life has priority- give personal witness in a tangible way at Mem. Hall Dec. 1-5,"

This year donors were to be asked whether they had smoked marijuana in the past two weeks or had taken hard drugs within the past half year. If so they were not allowed to donate blood. A Red Cross official said this procedure was initiated because too little was knownabout the effect of marijuana and hard drugs on blood. However, many donors said that they had not been asked these questions.

Nims said that while 1,400 people turned out for the drive, many had to be turned away for reasons of poor health. Potential donors were checked for blood pressure, pulse temperature and blood disease and asked questions concerning their medical history.

Nims set the goal for the Spring drive in April at 2,000 pints of blood. Each of the semi-annual drives last year netted 740 pints.

Nims attributed the success of this fall's drive to the involvement of the Harvard Undergraduate Council, the Vietnam Moratorium Committee. the University Health Services and the publicity campaigns of the Harvard CRIMSON and Independent. He said the Red Cross's lowering of the age for giving blood without parental permission from 21 to 18 was probably the most important factor.