The school held its first blood drive of the school year this Wednesday in the aux gym. The school usually hosts two blood drives, one in the fall and one in the spring, and students who are over 16 are able to donate. The blood drive is held by Vitalant. 

“I’m happy to donate blood because I know it will be going to a good cause,” said senior Asia Bond. 

Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shortage of blood available to patients. The easiest way to get more blood is to have more people donate. The Vitalant website says that while a majority of the population is able to donate, only around three percent do. Also, the reason most people do not donate blood is simply because they have not been asked to. The blood drive at the school hopes to help eliminate this shortage. 

“I would like to donate again. It’s a lot better than I thought it would be. If it could save a life, I would do it again,”  said junior Joe Bragioli.

Why donate blood? According to Vitalant, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. is in need of blood. This blood is provided by donations gathered at blood drives such as the one at the school. The blood gathered at the school’s blood drive provides blood to 900 hospitals in 28 states. Blood also has a shelf life: 42 days for red blood cells and just 5 days for platelets. This means that the supply of blood must be constantly replenished to provide blood to patients when they need it.

“I donated because I wanna save a life, and for the free food,” Bragioli said. 

To be eligible to donate, students must be over age 16, weigh at least 110 pounds, and cannot have already donated blood less than 8 weeks before. On the day of the donation, patients should not donate if they are not feeling well. 

“I wanted to donate to hopefully help someone out in an ambulance or whoever needs it,” said junior Drake Runyon. 

Students who donated at this drive will also be able to donate again in the spring, as well as any new students who are interested in donating.