“It’s essential to encourage individuals to start donating early, in order to develop the habit,” states Mrs. Kristen Boyle, of the Red Cross, speaking of student blood donations. Every two seconds, someone in the United States requires blood. It can be used for a number of things, including surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. To help provide blood to hospitals, organizations such as the Red Cross host blood drives. According to Mrs. Boyle, twenty percent of blood drives done by the Red Cross are done at schools. They make up a large part of blood donations, and are therefore an important service to the surrounding community. Recently, North Augusta High School hosted it’s Spring 2021 Blood Drive on April 29th, working with the Red Cross. With the incentive of saving lives, skipping class, and free snacks, many students volunteered to donate.
Amongst these students were Jack Livingston and Kelly Herring, both Juniors at North Augusta High School. While donating, Livingston and Herring were asked about their experience. Their responses are recorded below.
When asked about why he chose to donate blood, Livingston stated that it was family tradition, as his mom often donated. Livingston also said that he wished to help others, and pushed through the beginning of the process, which he described as being scary. However, Livingston emphasized that after he got started, everything went smoothly. He encouraged others to donate in order to save lives, and also to get snacks.
Herring, on the other hand, chose to donate blood because of her blood type. As a first-time donor, she was especially excited to donate as she “knew (she) had the universal blood donor type.” Furthermore, Herring emphasized that the process “wasn’t scary at all in (her) opinion. Any pain was extremely tolerable, and the music in the background helped me not to focus on the needle going in and coming out.” Herring also felt a deep sense of having impacted her community after donating, as she knew she would be saving lives. She concluded that she “would encourage anyone willing to donate to give it a shot, because it’s not nearly as bad as you might think. Not only that, but you could save a life!”
North Augusta High School continues to work with both the Red Cross and the Shepherd Community Blood Center in order to provide blood for those in need in the CSRA. As the 2021 – 2022 school year begins, the North Augusta FBLA will once again sponsor two blood drives, in both the fall and spring seasons. More information will be available in the new academic year.
Photo Credit: The Red Cross
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