The Blood Bus

The school’s annual blood drive, hosted by the organization OneBlood, was held on Nov. 9. The drive gives students the chance to participate in various ways, whether it be donating blood, helping organize the drive, or helping to make the process run smoothly. In order to donate blood, students must be at least 16 years old and weigh over 130 pounds. Throughout the day, the buses were parked by the 9000 Building, waiting for students to come in and donate. Student volunteers sat outside handing out informational papers and collecting the waivers from students who were ready to donate.

“I have been volunteering with the blood drive since last year because I have always wanted to see how the process worked behind the scenes. What I do is help hand out flyers during both lunches to those who want to donate blood and I take them out of class the day of the drive so they can go ahead and donate,” senior Marissa Singer-Rosenberg said.

OneBlood aims to help enhance the well-being of others through the different drives that they host. The organization does not only collect red blood cells and whole blood cells, but also platelets and plasma found in blood.  In order to be eligible for a double red blood cell donation, males must weigh and measure at least 130 pounds and 5’1, respectively. Females have a minimum weight and height requirement of 150 pounds and 5 feet and 5 inches, respectively. These requirements are based on blood volume that is typically lower in females than in males, which explains the difference in height and weight measurements. Whole blood donations are limited to individuals with blood types O-, O+, A-, A+ and B-; platelet donations are limited to A+, B+, AB+, AB- and O+ blood types; plasma donations are limited to blood types AB- and AB+.

“Donating blood is such an easy way to help others and it is something everyone should do at least once. It was my first time and it certainly will not be the last,” senior Daniela Toledo said.

The school’s health and physical education teacher, Mrs. Fumero, organized the event, ensuring that everything ran smoothly throughout the day. OneBlood gave those students who donated a free fleece blanket and a wellness checkup. The blood collected will be sent to patients who are in need of transfusions. Students who donated blood have potentially saved the lives of many people in need.

Donating blood can have many benefits for the donor, such as decreasing the likeliness of suffering from heart attacks and balancing iron levels within the body. If interested in volunteering for the next drive at the school, speak to one of the board members: President Melanie Elguezabal or Vice President Presley Gonzalez.