Jaycee Jones
Staff Writer
Student council collected a total of 57 units of blood at the spring blood drive. This year it took place on March 9, from 8 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The event is sponsored by St. Johns Mercy Hospital to get blood that is essential for surgery and the treatment of many types of cancer and immune system deficiencies.
To be eligible to donate blood at this drive, donors must at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, feel well, have eaten breakfast and have a photo ID.
Every donor received a light blue T-shirt after giving blood, as well as a bright orange arm band that holds the gauze pad onto the arm. Many types of food and drinks were provided before and after giving blood.
This blood drive took place in the Multi-purpose room, located underneath Roberts Gym next to the weight room. This room is also where the schools wrestling team practices.
One unit is equal to one bag which holds about 450 ml of blood. This is just under a pint, and the average human body holds about 12 pints.
People under 110 pounds can’t donate because their body holds a lot less blood than the average persons, so it would be harder for that small of a person to give blood than it would be for a person who weighs 200 pounds.
Normally, a person cannot give blood more than once every 16 weeks. This gives a person’s body and blood enough time to build up its amount of iron before the next he/she wants to donate.
“We had a total of 91 people try to donate, and 57 people ended up being able to.” said sponsor Jenni Vanderwalker.
Donors who give blood are told not to exercise or do anything too strenuous for about a day after giving blood. This means that if an athlete gives blood right before lunch, they would not be able to practice that day, but they could return to practice the next day.
Present at the blood drive were about eight nurses, four doctors, and around 10 volunteers from the high school to make sure everything ran smoothly.
