On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Whitney High School held a blood drive with the American Red Cross. Students over 16 years old who met the physical and medical requirements were able to donate.
From the drive’s 6:30 a.m. set-up to its 4:00 p.m. end, Whitney’s Associated Student Body (ASB) worked diligently with the Red Cross. ASB organized a system with several stations to make the blood drive as comfortable as possible for donors.
Tristan Eddy, ASB Commissioner of Community Service, was the head of the event. In an interview with JSR, she spoke about the reasons to donate blood.
“The donors help people get out of hospital beds to go home to their families for the holidays,” Eddy explained. She added, “My favorite memory of the blood drive is seeing people happily lay down to donate!”
The Red Cross nurses worked all day without complaint and thanked donors for giving blood. They also encouraged more people to give donations. The volunteers informed people that their blood donations could make a great impact on others’ lives.
Charlie Shin, a senior at Whitney and two-time donor, spoke of his motivation for donating.
“I donated… because I have blood type O,” a type that can be universally donated to any patient. “Donating blood does not harm you,” Shin stated, “but it can change other peoples’ futures.”
The day before the blood drive, not enough people had signed up to pass the quota of 52 blood donations for Whitney to receive a special reward of a food party. However, more students felt motivated when they saw their friends donate and decided to contribute blood also. Thus, the blood drive ended successfully with a total amount of 57 donations.
The next Whitney Blood Drive takes place in June.
