Wauwatosa West students donated blood at the annual blood drive hosted by the Blood Center of Wisconsin and the Wauwatosa West National Honor Society on Friday, November 21st.
Students and staff expressed a variety of reasons for donating, but many cited personal connections.
“When I was little my father was in a car accident and took in a lot of blood so this is me giving it back. It’s a great cause,” said Senior Maddy Jordan.
Some students felt donating blood was not only a duty, but also a way to support a loved one.
“Although I have a fear of needles, I am putting my fear aside and thinking about my Aunt with Leukemia.” said Junior Jovani Jefferson.
Others believe their blood is saving lives. School activities secretary Christi Toye donated her platelets and blood. “Neither hurt at all, but both save lives.” she said.
At the start of the school day, 64 students were registered to donate blood but non-registered volunteers also dropped in throughout the day. An exact number of donors was not available at the time of publication.
In order to donate, students are required to be 16 or older and must pass a health screening.
With a quarter of the school fighting off the flu bug many kids were being turned down and the team made a request for more volunteers over the school public announcement system.
Approximately 20 students were unable to donate blood. Reasons included antibiotics intake, low iron counts, recent foreign travel and not meeting height and weight requirements.
At the time of publication, the Blood Center of Wisconsin was unable to report an exact pint count for Wauwatosa West High School. Each donor provides a single pint. According to the American Red Cross, an adult has approximately 10 pints of blood in their body.
The Wauwatosa West blood drive is typically held in the Spring. The school will host two blood drives this year because of high volunteer rates during the 2013-2014 school year.
“We come to the high schools so that we can get kids interested in donating young and becoming lifetime donors.” explained blood drive head supervisor Katherine Schulz. She explained that lots of kids get into giving blood from other family members, but that coming to the high schools is a good way to get everyone involved.
The Wauwatosa West National Honor Society and the Blood Center of Wisconsin will host another blood drive in the Spring of 2015.
Blood Donation By the Numbers
(From the American Red Cross)
100 – the number of pints that may be required for a single car accident victim.
41,000 – blood donations needed every day.
1,600,000 – number of people diagnosed with cancer who will need blood to support treatment.∎
Article and photographs by: Danielle Ganser
