“[I] was in the hospital and got three units of donated blood that saved me”, Margrit Marino, advisor of the Red Cross Club, explains.
Ten minutes spent donating blood can be the best gift someone gives.
Blood drives have been supported by North Penn for decades. After originally being led by the Key Club, for at least the last twenty years the Student Government Association, and then the Class Cabinet have hosted them. This is the Red Cross Club’s fourth year holding the Drive.
To sign up, donors must download the Red Cross Donor app and use the sponsor code “NORTH PENN HS.”
Donors under 18 must get a permission form signed by their parent or guardian, which can be picked up and returned in room E116. Donors must be at least 16 years old.
Last year 75 people signed up, and around 50 people donated, as others were disqualified.
To avoid being turned away from giving blood, make sure to be properly hydrated, eat enough and healthily to maintain iron levels, and sleep well leading up to donate. If donors don’t meet the proper size requirements, have contagious diseases, have received new tattoos or piercings within the last three months, or have donated blood too recently, they will not be permitted to donate. Blood will also be tested beforehand, and people may be turned away for imbalanced blood, most commonly for low iron.
Additional height and weight requirements apply to donors 18 and younger, which are displayed in these charts.
Marino describes donating, encouraging new donors that it’s not as difficult as they might think.
“It’s just a little prick in your arm, and then you have to sit and wait, and there’s a tube coming out of your arm, but there’s no pain other than the initial needle… to me, it feels less than a shot,” Marino said.
After donating blood, donors will remain at the blood drive, where they will have time to rest and be given food and water. Make sure to stay hydrated, eat well, and allow time to rest even after leaving the drive.
After collection, “the blood has to be guarded so no one tampers with it; it’s kept in a secure area, and it’s kept cold. And then they deliver it to different areas that need blood,” Marino explained.
“So the reason why I do the blood drive: I was really anemic and was in the hospital and got three units of donated blood that saved me, so for me, I realize the importance of it. Also, my son had craniofacial surgery when he was six, and he needed three units of blood. People always think it’s not used, but it helped me because I was anemic and really sick in the hospital, and my son, needed it because he had surgery, and he would not have made it if he didn’t have the blood,” Marino stated.
Taking part in the Blood Drive is more than an excuse to skip class, log easy service hour time, or get free food — it’s the opportunity to save someone’s life.
Charts from:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/info-for-student-donors.html