NHS Blood Drive by Victoria Anderson

On Friday November 9th, Tech’s north gym had a new look. Boxes of medical supplies, padded tables, and cubicles filled the tiny gym. The Red Cross and Tech’s National Honor Society partnered once again for our annual fall blood drive.

I spent the entire day there- from 7:30 to 3:30- running the check-in. Being squeamish, I was nervous to spend the whole day around blood and needles, but by the end of the day, I was inspired by every donor and am even considering donating in the spring! With this being my first blood drive, there were quite a few events I found interesting and would like to share.

Not everyone gets to donate.

I was surprised to see that over half of our expected donors were turned away before even getting to donate. Be it because of low iron detected, unawareness of time commitment, or lack of identification, not everyone who signs up to donate blood will get to.

You are not just in and out.

The process of drawing blood actually takes about an hour. Between the check-in information, interview, actual donation, and recovery time, most donors were there for a little over an hour. The process of blood donation is done carefully, considering many possible conditions can be harmful to the donors or patients.

Tech has countless wonderful, selfless staff and students who save people’s lives.

We had several students- and even a few staff- willing to donate blood. Their courage and selflessness enables millions of people to survive sicknesses and operations. In fact, according to the BLN Blood Drive website, over 32,000 pints of blood are used everyday in the United States: and our contribution at Tech makes a difference.

Our next blood drive is April 23, so if you are 16 or older please consider donating! You will make a huge difference, get a cool experience, and even get free donuts out of the deal. Thank you to all of our donors!