Student Council organizes blood drive

A long line of students filtered into the large gym throughout the day on March 1, where one-by-one they donated a pint of their blood, an act that may end up saving three lives per pint.

The day-long event was hosted by Student Council, who donated the blood to the Red Cross.  Student executive council president and senior Madison Miller said the group handled the sign-ups, permission forms and sign-ins and coordinated with the Red Cross.  Miller also said in order for students to participate, they had to meet certain criteria.

“The basic requirements are that [students] have to be 16 years old and at least 110 pounds, but there are specific weight requirements per each height for girls and guys,” Miller said.

According to Miller, many students hoped to participate in the Blood Drive and because of this, there were delays in the donating process.

“We have a lot of people that are really interested in giving blood but unfortunately there sometimes [are] back-ups because of the amount of people and because of the questions and the procedure that they have to go through for each person,” Miller said.  “Overall, it went very smoothly.”

Junior Sam Fisher, who donated blood, also felt the event went well and felt strongly about donating.

“I just felt like it is the nice thing to do,” Fisher said.  “I figured somebody else needs it more than I do.”

Miller was also very pleased about the success of the Blood Drive.  She said Student Council received 77 usable units of blood.  Although Student Counci

l surpassed their goal of getting 70 units of blood, Miller said they could have gotten more blood if it were not for certain factors.

“We had about 115 people sign up, but some people aren’t able to give because they come that day and they don’t meet the requirements whether it be height and weight or if they are taking antibiotics or something like that,” Miller said.  “Also, some people aren’t there that day.”

Because of these factors, Fisher acknowledged the importance of students to contribute.

Student Council usually holds several blood drives throughout the year. In this shot taken at the group’s drive last spring, students comfort a donor. Lavi Ben-Dor/The SPOKE

“I think it’s important for students to be involved in the Blood Drive because then they realize that there’s a lot that goes into all of the medical procedures and [they can] help save a lot of people,” Fisher said.  “Maybe some people would need it at some point in their lives.  It’s good to help other people out.”

Miller urges students to continue to participate in the future.

“They say that one donation can save three lives,” Miller said.  “Obviously, giving one day of your time, one hour or more can have the ability to save three lives and that’s something that’s pretty remarkable and students should consider doing it if they meet the requirements.”

Brittany Roker can be reached at broker@stoganews.com.