Monday, January 31, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 5
Demand for blood donors greater than usual
Flu and trauma cases lower regional supply
By Warisa Chulindra
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Blood donors are always in demand. But the demand has been exceeding the supply more than usual this month, said Chris Beurman, manager of donor recruitment at Kansas Blood Services Center, 535 Gateway Drive.
"January has always been difficult," he said. "But this year has been a little more serious than in the past."
He said the increased demand was because of more traumas and more blood transfusions for flu patients.
Kansas Blood Services supplies blood for 75 hospitals in 60 counties in Kansas and
Missouri. This includes the University of Kansas Medical Center and other hospitals in Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka.
On average, 2,500 people per week donate blood at Kansas Blood Services, Beurman said. It has been reaching that mark consistently. Beurman said, but there is still not enough blood.
Blood donations improved after Kansas Blood Services officials issued an emergency appeal on Jan. 3, its first in more than two years.
Kansas Blood Services' lowest supply of blood was at the beginning of the year, when it had less than a day's supply of type O blood, the most universal blood type, he said.
Many businesses that normally have blood drives did not this year, he said, because they were too busy preparing for the Y2K computer bug. Also, the outbreak of the flu both caused a greater need for transfusions and reduced the number of healthy people
"When only 5 percent of the population donates, it's always difficult to get people to come in," Beurman said.
who could give blood,he said.
Kansas Blood Services keeps records of donors and when it needs donors, officials call previous donors and ask them to donate again. People can donate blood every eight weeks. Beurman said.
Lauren Alexander, Wichita sophomore,
began donating blood when she was 17 and
said she donated blood three or four times
a year.
"I think it's important," she said. "A lot of people think it's not a big deal since it's only a pint, but it is."
Robert Arpke, Beatrice, Neb., junior and All Scholarship Hall Council blood drive chairman, said he thought students and faculty were interested in donating blood.
"It's a good way to help people in the community," he said. "You never know who's
BLOOD DONATION CENTERS
People interested in donating blood may contact:
going to need the blood."
American Red Cross, 2518 Ridge Court,
B443.5500
Kansas Blood Services, 535 Gateway Drive, 843.5383
To donate blood a person must be healthy, be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds.
Students and faculty will have the opportunity to donate blood on campus in a few weeks. The University of Kansas Athletic Corporation will have a blood drive Feb. 14 to 18 at the east lobby in Allen Fieldhouse.
Legal Services to help students file taxes electronically
By Erinn R. Barcomb writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Filing income taxes can be done with ease in the new millennium on the computer.
At the University of Kansas, Legal Services for Students is riding the wave of the future by offering electronic filing to students.
Legal Services has offered help with income taxes for several years, but this is the first year for electronic filing, said Braxton Copley, staff attorney at Legal Services.
"The Internal Revenue Service has told us that those who do electronic filing and request direct deposit can get their refund in 10 days," Copley said. "Filing a paper return late in the season could mean six weeks before you would get your refund check in the mail."
Copley said the only difference with e-filing was that students would need to bring their Social Security cards and the usual paperwork, including W-2 forms.
Michele Kessler, associate director of Legal Services, said e-filling was started as part of the IRS Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. While some law students and other community organizations sponsor other VITA sites in Lawrence, Kessler said the site at Legal Services was open only to students.
Kessler said one of the benefits of e-filing was that the IRS gave rapid feedback as to whether taxes were filed correctly.
"We were encouraged by the IRS to be an electronic filing site." Kessler said.
The IRS has made a big push for enfiling in the last three years, and it expects most taxes to be electronically filed by 2010. Copley said.
Legal Services has software for Kansas and Missouri residents and is working on getting software for other states, Kessler said.
Braxton said his and two other attorney's appointments with students were booked for the next two weeks.
"The sooner someone can make an appointment to come and see us, the less stress they will have April 15," Copley said. "The benefit of filling early is that you can get your refund so much more quickly, because they don't have that big
backlog of returns like they do around April 15."
Copley said that students must be U.S. residents in order to e-file. But most of the 1,000 tax returns filed annually through Legal Services are from international students, he said.
Kessler said that with proper software and knowledge about filing, it would be possible for students to file income taxes from a home computer.
"Their taxes are very complicated, because they are not entitled to tax benefits that U.S. residents are." Cobley said.
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