Student Health to host blood drive, CPR training at Conquest

Student Health to host blood drive, CPR training at Conquest

Student Health is organizing opportunities to learn health skills — including naloxone intervention and hands-only CPR training — for Nov. 21’s Conquest spirit rally and concert, Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said in a briefing with the Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media.

The training is intended to expand students’ opportunities to learn life-saving skills.

“What the county’s been doing — and we’ve also been sharing — is anyone can really learn to do hands-only or compression-only CPR in just 10, 15 minutes,” Van Orman said. “We encourage people to become fully CPR- certified. We know for many people, taking the class to do it takes a few hours; it might be a barrier.”

Last year’s “Heart Heroes” campaign — a partnership between Student Health and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health — trained over 900 students in hands-only CPR skills at the annual Conquest event.

“Rather than the traditional CPR — which includes both doing chest compressions as well as giving rescue breaths — hands-only CPR just is about giving chest compressions,” Van Orman said. “Research shows that for people who experience a sudden cardiac event, CPR that’s compression only actually is very effective.”

Campus health team members will also provide training on how to identify the signs of an overdose, distribute harm reduction resources and discuss how to administer naloxone — a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

“We’ll also have our folks out giving out naloxone and teaching people about how to identify and prevent an opioid overdose,” Van Orman said. “We just encourage everyone to become familiar with naloxone and consider having it with them.”

On campus, naloxone and fentanyl testing kits are available at the Engemann and Eric Cohen Student Health Centers at no cost.

Throughout November, Student Health is continuing to partner with LifeStream Blood Bank to bring recurring blood donation drives to campus, including an event at USC Village during Conquest, Van Orman said.

“We’ve had a multi-year shortage of blood, and it’s particularly been bad this year. It really started during COVID,” Van Orman said. “When we have a shortage, what that means is that it’s at the point the shortage is significant enough that surgeries can be delayed if there isn’t blood supply.”

In 2024, the American Red Cross recorded the lowest supply of blood donations over the last 20 years. The shortages can affect critical health care needs, delaying procedures and treatments for those needing transfusions.

“[Blood donations] are also needed for many people who are undergoing treatments, particularly for various kinds of cancers — where the treatment or the disease itself affects the production of blood,” Van Orman said. “Or, when people experience trauma, they may lose blood or need blood as part of a surgical procedure — so when we have blood shortages, we end up delaying surgeries.”

Over time, a shift in donor populations has also contributed to the low supply nationally.

“Historically, we are also seeing a decrease in the number of people who are regular blood donors,” Van Orman said. “We really need younger people to consider becoming one of those people who just donate on a regular basis.”

The campus initiative is part of the Abbott and Big Ten “We Give Blood Drive” — an effort across Big Ten universities to raise donations before Dec. 6, with a prize to fund community and student health programs. Students, faculty, families and Trojan fans can enter the competition by uploading proof of donation to the Abbott and Big Ten competition website and submitting on behalf of USC.

On campus, the next upcoming blood donation event is scheduled at USC Village Nov. 21.

“We really rely on people who are donating; just they make it part of their life to donate, every few months, based on their health,” Van Orman said. “If you’ve never donated before, this is a great time to become a first-time donor.”