On Tuesday February 28th, hundreds of students gathered in the Macintosh Gym to donate blood during the second blood drive of the year. The drive, which is put together by ASB and made possible through LifeStream, provides students over the age of 16 and weighing over 110 pounds, the opportunity to donate a pint of their own blood or plasma.
Students who decided to donate blood or plasma met in the Macintosh Gym, where they signed in and waited for their turn to get taken to the stations. At the stations, students are instructed to lay on a gurney, where their arm vein is prepped for the tube intake, and their blood is taken out to fill a pint-sized bag. The students are given a red stress ball to squeeze, and are also accompanied by a member of Renaissance or ASB who try to help put the student at ease. On whether this kind of event is difficult to put together, ASB President, Senior Bree Reyes said, “Yes. There are so many students, and it’s such a big event to coordinate so it’s hard to keep track of everyone who signs up, and to make sure they get the necessary treatment. We try to make sure they have the best experience while giving blood, and make sure they are comfortable.”
It is no secret that the shortage of blood donations has been significant in recent years, which is consequently not in compliance with the demand for blood. Due to this, blood donation centers such as LifeStream have been doing everything they can to bring awareness to the cause and hopefully persuade people to begin donating blood. Reyes, who was the person in charge of coordinating the event went on to say, “I feel good. The event itself saves lives, and for me to be able to plan it, really makes me feel good.”
Blood donations like these are used every day for surgery patients, cancer patients, accident victims, bone marrow recipients, burn patients and organ transplant recipients, just to name a few of the beneficiaries that students may be helping by donating. On how he feels knowing that what he is doing could save a life, Senior Roman Federico said, “I feel like a hero. Like Superman.”
LifeStream has come to Colton High School to take in blood donations several times before, and each time, there is a large amount of students that willingly come out to support the cause. When asked why she chooses to donate blood, Sophomore Victoria Luna put it simply and best; “To save a life.”