Blood is what keeps our hearts pumping, and is ultimately what keeps us alive. Currently, the American Red Cross is facing an emergency blood shortage. This is why it is important to consider donating blood if you are eligible. Lowellville High School hosted a blood drive with the American Red Cross on February 1, 2024. Students 16 and older, who met the requirements, could donate blood. Staff members, substitute teachers, and community members could also donate. Our senior student council, as well as Mrs. DeLuca and Mrs. Kerpsack, hosted the second blood drive of this year.
To donate, students have a list of requirements. To begin, you must be 16 years or older. You must also meet the weight requirements for your age and height. For people who are 5’5 or taller, or are 19 years of age, you must be 110 lbs. However, if you are shorter than 5’5, there are different requirements depending on your height and age. Once you meet these requirements, you will complete a health screening questionnaire and a finger stick to check your hemoglobin levels. If you pass all of these tests you will be able to donate. At this blood drive, donors received a $20 Amazon gift card as a gift for their efforts.
When donating blood at a school blood drive donors have the option of donating whole blood or power red donations. Most students at Lowellville donate whole blood which is the process of giving one pint of blood. This process takes about ten minutes. During a Power Red donation, you give a concentrated dose of red cells. This kind of donation uses an automated process that separates your red blood cells from other components, then they return your plasma and platelets to you. This kind of donation typically helps trauma patients, newborns and emergency transfusions during birth, people with sickle cell anemia, and anyone suffering from blood loss.
After you donate there are recommended precautions to take for your health. You are encouraged to eat and drink water, this is to ensure you don’t feel light-headed and pass out. You are also encouraged to rest and refrain from physical activity for that day because you may feel weak after.
There were many first-time donors at Lowellville this year. Including people who had just turned 16 or just now meet the weight and height requirements. Some of these first time donors include Hannah Morris, Landon Esenwein, and Cody Nolfi.
Sophomore Hannah Morris said that she wanted to help others and she encourages others to donate to help others as well. She said that the donation process went well because she had friendly people surrounding her, which helped distract her.
Junior Cody Nolfi said that he also decided to donate because he wanted to help people. However, he found it a little intimidating at first, but the process went well.
If you are eligible, I encourage you to donate blood whenever you can. If you have blood type O-, the universal donor, this type of blood can be given to anybody as it has no antigens, so it won’t trigger an immune response. This makes it incredibly useful for saving lives. Donating a pint of blood saves up to three lives. If you missed this blood drive, you can donate at a Red Cross Donation center.