After first bringing the blood drive to Skyline over 30 years ago, this year’s event still showed strong enthusiasm by donators, bringing in crowds of people looking to help others by donating their most vital fluid. Nearly 150 volunteers attended the blood drive that began at 9am this past Tuesday, brought in part through the efforts of school nurse Jan Gersonde. Ten hours later, collection containers were nearly full as enthusiastic workers from the American Red Cross told of the importance of giving blood.”You never know if your family members need blood,” said Vickie, a worker for the American Red Cross who asked to remain anonymous. It is believed that only 3% of Americans donate blood, so helping get word out to others is extremely important to those at the American Red Cross. In fact, turnout at this event was so strong that many workers stayed until the final minutes of the event. “[The event] seemed a lot busier this year,” Gersonde said. Almost half of the volunteers who donated blood at the drive were believed to have been all walk-in appointments, according to John Cook, who has been helping collect blood for the American Red Cross for almost two years. Potential donors are able to log onto helpsavealife.org, and pre-qualify themselves as well as set an appointment to make their visit a bit quicker. Normal time however for a drop in visit is approximately one hour. A typical visit to a blood drive would first entail checking in at the registration booth and filling out the necessary forms – volunteers are asked simple questions to ensure they are both mentally and physically fit enough to give blood. Donors who have gotten tattoos within the past year or given blood within the past 8 weeks are not allowed to donate. They are also asked questions on their health and travel history. After being approved, donors give a small sample to be examined – blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and pulse are all closely watched to see if iron levels are well enough for the donation.
Soon, the donor’s arm is cleaned off, and a sterile antibacterial needle is inserted. The actual collection of blood takes about ten minutes, where one pint of blood is the average amount taken in.
Lastly, donors are taken to the “canteen,” an area where refreshments and snacks are given to help replenish and boost blood sugar levels.
Cook told of the process as a donor nearby had his blood taken. “People are dying, giving blood saves lives,” he said.
Flyers were plastered across campus in the weeks before promoting the annual event, looking to bring in new faces in addition to existing ones.
Both the Cosmetology and Automotive departments have had a continuing friendly competition on who could donate the most blood. For two years, both the students and faculty of the Cosmetology department have out-volunteered their rivals. This year’s winner will become clear in the following days after the samples are fully collected.As the event wound down and the final donations were taken, a worker quickly mentioned the importance of their work.”One donation can help save three lives,” she said.
