Students donate blood to Memorial Hospital

On Friday, April 21, Memorial Hospital parked their Bloodmobile Van outside of HHS.

The spring blood drive, the third and final for the school year, attracted 60 students and staff.

“When the needle first went in, it kind of hurt but after that it was fine,” said Ross Nordean, junior. “I would definitely donate again.”

HHS students and staff had previously signed up to donate blood during their lunch periods but they also accepted walk-ins from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Students who participated in the blood drive were pulled out of class in the afternoon if not able to sign up for a time during their lunch. Signs around the school helped guide students to the Bloodmobile where Memorial Hospital was set up for the day.

Students were signed in, asked questions regarding their health history and got finger pricked to test their blood to ensure that their blood would be safe and useful. When finished donating, students were provided with snacks and drinks and were able to take their time heading back to class.

Blood drives have been taking place at HHS for 25 years. The blood donated goes to Memorial Hospital, where it is needed at a high demand. Ms. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, hopes to see the numbers of donors increase in future blood drives.

“Memorial Hospital uses 2,000 units of blood a week. From accidents, giving birth or cancer patients there are all kinds of things the hospital needs blood for,” Pointer said. “Since it is impossible to create artificial blood, we need as many people donating as we can get.”

This was the last blood drive of the school year, but Memorial Hospital plans on making three trips to HHS for the 2017-2018 school year.