Stony Brook University’s Student Blood Drive Committee, in partnership with the New York Blood Center (NYBC), held a blood drive on Wednesday, April 16 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Student Activities Center in support of Aidan Fischer, a Long Island resident who was fighting his third battle with leukemia. Fischer passed away from leukemia on Friday, April 18, two days after the blood drive. 

The blood drive was organized by Kate Valerio, a retired longtime member of Stony Brook’s Division of Student Affairs, who now serves as an advisor and volunteer with the Stony Brook University Student Blood Drive Committee, and Melanie Formosa, a Stony Brook alumna from the class of 2023, who described herself as Fischer’s as “first and oldest best friend.” 

Fischer’s father, Christopher Fischer, has ties to Stony Brook through his friendship with Formosa in addition to being a trauma education coordinator at Stony Brook Trauma Center. Fischer had previously been treated at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.

“There was [already] a blood drive organized by the Stony Brook University Student Blood Committee for April 16,” Formosa said. “I connected with Kate Valerio about Aidan’s situation. She asked, ‘why don’t we dedicate the drive to Aidan?’ And I said, ‘absolutely.’” 

Due to the type of leukemia that Fischer had, he required specific white blood cells called granulocytes to help fight off an infection he contracted in addition to the leukemia. 

“At the time Aidan needed these white blood cells and platelets,” Formosa said. “We were raising awareness about how to donate. We were trying to do everything we could, and still are, to support him. We also wanted to get people to donate because every pint of blood donated saves three lives.” 

Prior to the start of the drive, there were already 113 appointments scheduled through the NYBC Donor Portal. However, by the end of the day, there were 196 total blood donations, potentially saving up to 588 lives.

“We had a massive turnout, more people donated than [in] previous drives [here at the University],” she said. “And it was all for Aidan — he has a massive community behind him, an army really. People [came] out in droves to help him or do something in his honor. I saw a lot of people who Aidan knew and was friends with, even people who didn’t know him directly but [were] a friend of a friend.”

In addition to the strong turnout, Formosa emphasized the efforts made by students and the campus community to show their support in meaningful ways.

“The campus community was incredibly supportive and I am very grateful to them,” Formosa said. “I was so grateful for the students who went out of their way to get bags and bracelets that were in the theme of fighting leukemia, the color orange. They also printed out Aidan’s GoFundMe link. They really went out of their way to help and that was so appreciated.” 

At the drive, donors were checked in by student volunteers, who guided them to designated donation areas. As donors came in, they received items like bracelets, pens and stress balls. 

At the front of the ballroom, a large screen displayed a photo of Fischer, along with a sign from the NYBC that read, “Donate blood now … people can’t live without it.” 

Teagan Lynch, a freshman majoring in psychology, shared that this was her first experience ever donating blood. 

“Donating blood helps a lot of people,” Lynch said. “It’s also a really necessary time to donate. It’s really quick and I have family who always make sure to donate when they can, so I decided to donate this time.” 

Freja Collishaw-Mozer, a junior majoring in marine vertebrate biology, also shared her thoughts about how donating blood is an easy way to help those who need it. 

“Donating blood is such an easy way to save lives, and it doesn’t really require much on my end,” she said. 

Once an individual’s blood was taken, they were led to a designated area that had cookies, water, Gatorade and other snacks so they could rest and recharge before leaving. 

At 12:30 p.m., there was a brief certificate presentation made by members of the NYBC, who thanked the Stony Brook community for the 35,000 pints of blood donated over their 20-year long partnership with Stony Brook, leading to over 105,000 lives being saved. 

After the certificate presentation, members of the NYBC posed for photos with the Vice President for Student Affairs Rick Gatteau, who came to show his support alongside the Wolfie mascot. 

In an email to The Statesman, Gatteau emphasized the overall importance of donating blood and touched on the significance of this specific blood drive. 

“Giving blood has the ability to save lives, improve health and advance health equity; all of which embodies the core mission of Stony Brook University,” he wrote. “Blood drives raise awareness about the importance of blood donation, offering a unique opportunity to educate our students and foster a culture of giving back. This particular blood drive honored a local man who bravely battled a severe illness, celebrating his resilience and drawing inspiration from his fight to encourage others to give the gift of life.”