Cason Johnson

Standing next to several other HOSA volunteers, junior Gwen Greer poses for a picture at the HOSA blood drive on Dec. 21. At this event, Greer was in charge of taking students or teachers back to their rooms, and monitoring patients to make sure they were in good condition. “I think that the best part was seeing how happy people were after they donated because that really does make a big difference,” Greer said. “It’s only a pint of blood, but [donating] really does help people because it can save three lives.”

A screech of tires on the pavement, a crash of metal on metal that rings through the night air, and an emergency team rushing injured patients to the hospital. Loss of blood from an injury such as a car accident can be fatal in many situations, or cause lasting negative effects to one’s health. Fortunately, hospitals are often able to save these patients through blood transfusions with blood donated from people in the community. HOSA recently contributed to this effort by hosting a blood drive and inviting students, parents and staff to participate.

From the first day of school, HOSA members began preparing for the blood drive by setting weekly meetings, making monthly checklists and working with We Are Blood, a local blood donation organization. The blood drive took place on Dec. 21 in the lecture hall, and over 45 people donated blood.

“It was really simple [to donate blood],” senior and first-time blood donor Noah Luttrell said. “You just register for a time online, fill out a little questionnaire beforehand, and then they draw your blood. All of the teachers were super nice [when you leave your class] because it’s a good cause [and] it helps a lot of people. Saving lives is a really big deal.”

Not only was donating blood beneficial for those receiving the donation, but it was also valuable for the volunteering HOSA students who were in charge of monitoring donors after they got their blood drawn. Health Science Practicum and Health Science Theory teacher Robin Spinelli said she was happy to see the students play such a vital role in patient care.

“When a patient came in for recovery, that was [the students’ patient],” Spinelli said. “They had the experience of seeing how you would interview a patient [and] they saw the blood donation process [as well as] the equipment used. They got to actively use their skills to monitor patients, [and] they could respond if a patient had low blood pressure or if they felt dizzy. [The students learned] things that you can’t learn in a classroom.”

HOSA Treasurer and senior Tiffany Lam volunteered at the blood drive during first and third periods. Lam said she enjoyed watching people come in to donate and helping them recover after getting their blood drawn. 

“I made sure that the people who had donated blood were eating and drinking enough, they were sitting down and weren’t feeling faint or dizzy or confused,” Lam said. “[Each patient] had to be there for around 20 minutes, because that is usually when most of the side effects of fainting and dizziness [occur]. Afterward, I would help walk them back to where they needed to go.”

According to Spinelli, the blood contribution of teenagers 17 years and up makes up over 12% of the blood supply that goes out to local hospitals, so high school blood drives are very important for the community. Lam said that donated blood is especially important during pandemics, when many people require a blood transfusion. 

“During COVID, there was a shortage of things in the hospital and one of them was often blood,” Lam said. “Especially during pandemics, many people need surgeries or just need different components of blood like platelets, so donating blood is very important.”

Senior Phoebe Solberg also donated for the first time at the blood drive event, and she encourages those who are worried about the process to donate blood and help their community.

“It’s a good overall process, and [it’s] rewarding,” Solberg said. “[The phlebotomists of We Are Blood] are professional, [so] if you have any side effects, they’re trained to take care of that, so you shouldn’t be worried.”

Principles of Health Science, Medical Terminology, and Kinesiology teacher Amy Buffington said that donating blood is a great gift to give to those who need it.

“I think [donating blood] is very important,” Buffington said. “One donation can save three lives. The total process takes probably about 30 minutes to come in [and] your donation only takes about five minutes, so within that amount of time being able to save three lives is pretty amazing.”

Spinelli and Buffington witnessed firsthand the importance of blood donations to people in the community.

“There was a lady that is one of our acquaintances who has been going through cancer treatment, and she had a critical need for platelets during the winter break,” Spinelli said. “She acquired a transfusion of platelets, and for all we know it could have been our donations that helped save her life over the holidays. For me, that is the biggest win of all.”

Parents, students, and faculty who wish to donate blood will have an opportunity at the HOSA blood drive in the spring, or they can make an appointment with local organizations such as We Are Blood or American Red Cross. Students must be 17 or older, weigh at least 115 pounds, and have signed consent from a parent or guardian to donate.