Boone foundation teams with ARUP Blood Services

In Utah, the U. is a wonderful beachhead, said MacGregor, because it's the third-largest employer, behind state government and Intermountain Healthcare, which are neck and neck. Boone met with Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert later in the day to introduce the program, which he hopes the state will also want to partner with, to let employees know when blood needs are dire. They hope eventually to get the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Intermountain involved, as well.

Nationally, about 50-60 percent of adults are eligible to donate blood, but fewer than 5 percent do. Boone hopes that number will rise nationwide. At the U., they've set the goal of 5,000 standby donors. As the program and those willing to be a "reserve corps" of blood donors grows, they hope to include people willing to donate bone marrow, as well.

But for now, they're tickled with the U. and ARUP's enthusiasm. "Imagine what would happen if every university across the nation did this," MacGregor said.

The value of a reserve corps, Boone and MacGregor agree, is that little blood would be wasted and some of the vagaries of donation patterns eliminated. After a calamity such as Sept. 11, Americans lined up to donate blood, but there were few survivors and the blood's shelf life dictated that most of it be destroyed. In a video promoting the program, former NFL quarterback Steve Young points out that sometimes "the best place to store blood is in ourselves until it's needed."

Boone's particularly pleased with the concept of harnessing technology to help save lives in this way. Speaking of the Internet, he said, "as much as it does to connect people, it also creates isolation."

The USBloodDonor.org Web site was constructed and is being hosted by Nuvek.com. As blood donation needs in various geographic locations arise, people who have registered will be notified.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com