Students and staff took advantage of the opportunity to save lives during the blood drive organized by MedTech on November 19.

“It was my first time donating blood and I did it to save a life. I feel very touched to be able to share my experience, also, I did it to get out of pre-calc. I ended up getting a 58/60 on my test,” sophomore Jack Douglass said.

The Med Tech students that were involved had many different opportunities that they could partake in when they split into their groups. One group dealt with the food, another signed people in and out, and the last group stayed with each student while they gave blood.

“After someone donated their blood, my group lead them to choose their food and they were allowed to relax after. Towards the end, I was next to people who were giving blood, so I could talk to them and help them be less nervous,” senior Kenzie Hough said. “I think this was my favorite part. This was my first year doing the blood drive and I think it went very smoothly.”

The Med Tech team worked with the American Red Cross for the blood drive and was able to donate 61 units of blood from the 73 people that were able to donate. The Red Cross has its own facility and the blood is stored in a cold temperature room. The blood is then bought by the surrounding hospitals for their use, according to Hough.

“This is still a great accomplishment. As far as the number of lives saved, that is hard to determine. It could be used for 61 different individuals, or one individual could require five units of blood,” Med Tech teacher Melissa Cafferty said. “Requirements to donate were 16 years of age or older, meet height and weight requirements, (which vary per gender), have an iron level of at least 12.5 mcg/dL, and vital signs within a healthy limit (heart rate and blood pressure).”

Due to COVID, everyone that was in the gym, whether they were volunteering or donating, had to wear a mask. They weren’t able to have an “open” canteen this year either. An open canteen is when local restaurants donate food for the people after they donate. Instead, this year they had to give out all store-bought and prepackaged food.