Central National Honor Society blood drive helps to fill shortage
Central student Brayden Finley gives blood and a “thumbs up” during the recent National Honor Society blood drive that collected a record 54 units of blood.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The Central National Honor Society (NHS) recently hosted its annual blood drive, exceeding their goal of 46 by collecting 54 units.
Over the years, the NHS has hosted 10 such drives, collecting a total of 587 units in an effort to combat the ongoing and historic blood shortage sweeping the nation, leading the American Red Cross to declare it the worst blood shortage in a decade.
One way the Red Cross overcomes these shortages is through blood drives done on school campuses. This is where the Central NHS comes into play, as the group of students inducted for their leadership took the initiative and led by example to overcome the blood shortage and the challenge of simply getting people to donate.
While blood donation picks up around the start of the school year, as summer slows down, there are also some challenges with misinformation that hinder progress. Some of these include the notion that giving blood can make you sick, you might contract an infection, people with tattoos and piercings can’t donate, you can only do it once a year, it’s painful, it’s too time consuming, or there is the widely held belief that enough people already donate.
However, none of this is the case, and the NHS, which partners with the Red Cross, attests to the safeness of the process.
According to NHS Advisor Jill Hesse, donors are required to be at least 16 year old (with parent approval) to donate blood, and must answer a questionnaire about lifestyle and exposure to certain diseases or traveling outside the country. Once that is finished, each donor’s vitals are taken, and when they are able to donate, the withdrawal takes about 20 minutes. Overall, the entire process typically requires about an hour of time.
All the equipment used, such as the needles, is sterile and only used once, which prevents the spread of infections. People with tattoos and piercings can donate, and you can do it more than once a year. You just need to wait at least eight weeks between donations.
As for the pain, or being afraid of needles, medically referred to as trypanophobia, it is recommended that you bring a friend for support, utilize self-talk or practice breathing techniques, among other ways to overcome that fear.
When it comes to the notion that enough people already donate, that is, unfortunately, not the case either. According to a statistic provided by Hesse, only about 3 percent of age-eligible people donate blood each year. Of that group, some do actually get turned away for reasons ranging from low iron, they are taking certain medications, pregnancy or blood-related health issues. These are just a few of the things that make the already small pool of donors increasingly smaller.
“Sometimes donors are turned away due to inadequate iron levels, high blood pressure or pulse rates. These are factors we can’t control, so we try to give plenty of information about staying hydrated, eating foods rich in iron and getting plenty of rest before your donation,” Hesse said.
She added that people also might not understand how important blood donations are to healthcare systems.
“Blood, specifically O negative, is universal and can be used for anyone that needs blood, therefore it is usually in short supply,” Hesse said.
On this front, the NHS, along with the Red Cross, seeks to educate students about the importance of giving blood.
As Hesse stated, “Blood is used for certain diseases such as sickle cell anemia and chemotherapy. A person needing a transfusion after a car accident may require as much as 100 units of blood…every day, blood donors help patients of all ages.”
“In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood,” she added. “Blood donations are used to help treat cancer patients, trauma patients, sickle cell patients, burn victims and patients with chronic diseases. After blood donations are processed and tested, they are stored and/or distributed to hospitals across the country. Blood is distributed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
In short, the goal of the NHS is to help build the supply of blood the Red Cross has on hand. Along with this recent blood drive, the NHS will host another in March 2022, in an effort to continue their mission not just as leaders in the school and community, but in helping others in need.
