As the senior sits reclined in the chair with her blood slowly filling the donation bag, she thinks about the lives she is saving. She knows one person that will benefit from this donation and donations like this for years to come – her dad.
“My dad has a disease that requires constant treatment,” senior Zoe Mendes said. “For years he has traveled to MD Anderson for his treatments. He will save money on his next treatment because I donated today. I was able to donate in his honor.”
HOSA held the fall drive on Monday. Students, faculty and community members volunteered to donate blood to save lives. A donation crew from MD Anderson set up in the purple gym and offered free t-shirts to those who donated.
“The blood drive was a huge success,” HOSA sponsor Katrina King said. “I would like to personally thank the HOSA officer team and volunteers for all their hard work. I also want to thank the student body for being courageous enough to donate. Each person who gave saved three lives today. Thank you for making a difference.”
According to the American Red Cross, nearly 5,000 units of platelets and 6.500 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S. HOSA hosts two blood drives each year to help area blood Many HOSA members volunteered their time during the day and also donated blood.
“We had 114 donors come and 96 were able to donate,” King said. “We saved 288 lives on Monday. We want to thank our student body who represented 85% of the donors.”
“Personally, at the moment when I was donating, I was scared,” senior Natalia Herrera said. “But knowing that I am saving lives by donating, it definitely made me feel better. As a HOSA officer, it is a lot of hard work, but saving lives is worth it.”
Another blood drive is planned for the spring.
“Our next blood drive is in February,” King said. “We hope to recruit more adults from our community. Thank you to everyone who helped with this event.”
For those who donated last year, the process was a little less scary. Their experience helped ease their nerves.
“This is my second time donating blood,” senior James Ellis said. “I will say it was a whole lot better experience than my first time last year. I slept better knowing I saved lives.”
