Within hours of the attacks, medical center blood bank director Phillip DeChristopher reported that the staff at the blood bank, which normally sees no more than two walk-in donors a day, was "up to their ears in donors walking in."

"The turnout was astronomical," said DeChristopher, associate professor of clinical pathology. "Literally hundreds of people were clamoring to come in. People were waiting four or five hours and we didn't hear one complaint."

UIC's blood bank, the only one at an academic medical center in the Chicago area, has five donor chairs. To accommodate the unprecedented donor turnout, hospital administrators made two cafeteria rooms available so the lines could move faster. The blood bank staff willingly worked long hours and skipped lunch.

While only trained personnel can screen donors or draw blood, "all kinds of people volunteered to do the ancillary jobs," DeChristopher said. "And we quickly trained a whole bunch of anesthesia residents who kindly contributed their needle-sticking abilities."