Have you ever considered helping your community, but you are unsure of how you can contribute?
September 14th, 2023, the first blood drive of the year was held, out of the 27 people who signed up to donate, a total of 21 scholars, parents, and teachers were able to give blood.
Blood is donated through the non-profit organization, One Blood, which is responsible for providing safe, available, and affordable blood to more than 200 hospitals and their patients. One Blood is able to work with hospitals located in most of Flordia, parts of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Each time someone donates 1 pint of blood it can be used to save up to three lives. If you are interested in donating in the future, blood drives will be held on November 9th, January 25th, and April 4th of this school year.
The National Honor Society (NHS) hosted One Blood twice in the previous school year as a service project and both times resulted in a prominent number of donors willing and able to give blood. You are not able to give blood if you are or have been presently pregnant, sick, have recent tattoos or skin piercings, have medical concerns, take any unprescribed medications, underweight, or if it is difficult to find the vein. At any time you can choose not to donate and can be taken off the bus. This school year, One Blood will be coming four times, once every quarter, and this will allow one senior NHS scholar an opportunity to earn a scholarship. NHS uses service projects as a chance to give back to the community and earn volunteer hours.
Scholars under the age of 18 must have a parent sign a waiver and then can choose to test their blood type or give 1 to 2 pints of blood. Before donating, One Blood provides food and drinks to ensure the process goes smoothly. After, the donor can rest and recuperate to make sure he or she is ready to resume regular activity.
Giving blood is a great way to give back to the community and even if you didn’t donate the first time, the Big Red bus is coming back.
