Mississippi State University Transportation will host a blood drive between the YMCA Plaza and the Chapel of Memories from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30. At the event, students who donate blood can have one $30 out-of-zone parking ticket forgiven.
In recent years, students have proposed alternative ways to pay off parking citations, prompting Transportation officials to explore new options.
“We have looked at different methods of allowing students to get forgiveness for parking tickets,” said Jeremiah Dumas, the executive director of transportation.
The idea for a blood drive came after the staff attended a conference where another university shared a similar program.
“Three or four months ago, we were in a meeting with some of our colleagues, other universities,” Dumas said, “and one of them mentioned that they had a blood drive where you could give blood and it’d be for the forgiveness of one citation.”
The University of California, Riverside, has been doing a similar blood drive for a few years. The initiative received two awards from the International Parking & Mobility Institute in 2023 and has grown into one of the largest blood drives in California, helping more than 500 hospital patients during its 2021 event.
Jack Elliot, the director of parking and transit services, said Mississippi State’s program will follow a similar model.
“You’ll get one parking ticket forgiven,” Elliot said, “and it’s an out-of-zone ticket, which is a $30 value.”
Students who arrive but are unable to donate due to eligibility requirements will still have one citation forgiven, Elliot said.
Anna Webb, the director of administrative services for transportation, said that the blood drive rules are designed to avoid complications. She said that several students have asked if they could donate blood to cover their friends’ parking tickets.
Webb said the department expects strong participation, noting that out-of-zone violations are among the most common citations issued on campus.
“It is probably one of the largest quantities of tickets that we get,” Webb said.
While the incentive may attract students with tickets, Dumas emphasized that the event is open to anyone willing to donate.
“Anyone can give blood,” Dumas said, “but if you do have a parking ticket that is an out-of-zone ticket for this semester, we will be there, and we will take your name down, and we will void that ticket right there to get it off your account.”
Transportation officials said the event offers students a way to resolve citations ahead of the end of the semester, but it also holds personal significance for Dumas.
Dumas said his father was a longtime donor with Mississippi Blood Services before being diagnosed with cancer last year.
“My father had been diagnosed with cancer in October, and he was one of the biggest donors for the Mississippi Blood Services over the last 20 to 30 years,” Dumas said.
After his father’s death, Dumas said organizing the blood drive became a way to honor his legacy.
“To be able to do it for my father, who just recently passed away, and his memory, was something that was incredibly honorable to me,” Dumas said.
