U.S Muslim organization coordinates blood drive in honor of 9/11 victims

The Al-Islam Student Association (AISA) at the University of Arkansas recently collected 171 pints of blood in a blood drive that took place on Sept. 8-9 in honor of the victims who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“Both days we held the blood drive, the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks had to work extra hard because we had an overflow of students,” said Naseer Naseem, president of the AISA.

The student organization raised 77 pints of blood the first day and 94 pints the second day, Naseem said.

This is the fifth year the AISA has organized the blood drive, and members have collected more than 600 pints over the years, Naseem noted.

The blood drive is part of the Muslims for Life national campaign, which has raised around 40,000 pints in the last four years, Naseem added. That amount can save around 118,000 lives, according to the Muslims for Life website.

The blood drive is sponsored to show that despite differences in religion, ethnicity and nationality, students can give back to the community and save lives, Naseem said.

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