Got Blood?

On May 11th the National Honor Society hosted its 9th blood drive. Mrs. McLaughlin is the head organizer/ leader for the blood drive and here are her thoughts. “Being the organizer is actually easy once you have done it before. You know what the red cross needs, the permission slips for students, and the messages out to teacher and then then red cross staff.” Nathan Schmuff (’17) says, “I give blood to save lives, and maybe my own in the future.”

So here’s how it works, first of all you need to be 16 with parental consent, then you turn in the paperwork and you prepare for the day. You first go to the sign in table with your student ID, and you get a pamphlet on dos and don’ts, while giving blood. Next you are taken to a privacy area and answer questions about your history and such. You are then given a finger prick to test your iron level, and most people say that is the worst. 7 out of 10 people said that they dread the finger prick. Then after that if you have no complications you are good for giving blood.

Schmuff (’17) explains, “My first experience was fun, until the part where my body had a bad reaction. But yes I had fun.” NHS is so kind they have snacks and drinks for you, you can lie down on the mat for fifteen minutes then you are good to go back to class, not without an escort though. In the past Health occupations has worked alongside NHS to help out.

Mrs. McLaughlin explains “normally we have 40 spots for donors and this time around with everything going on, the two hour delay, and the Every Fifteen Minutes program shortened the time and slots but we got 37. In the past we have had as many as 60 people try to give blood.”