The H.C.H.S. Blood Drive

It’s that time of year again, Yes the annual Harlan Community High School blood drive where students ranging from 16, 18 and even as old as 19 come to give blood and save a life by doing virtually nothing. This year was much the same as the previous years before. The layout is simple; one walks into the gymnasium and signs in at the head table. From there the potential donor is given a blue booklet explaining what is going to be done and under what conditions a person can or can’t donate blood. Some of the common problems that would disqualify someone from donating blood include, receiving a vaccination, being on antibiotics, not weighing enough, (must be over 110 pounds) and traveling out of country for three or more months.

I was on the scene at 8:30am today interviewing the people in line to give blood and people that had just donated. While some people (whose names I will not mention) were frightened,

most were excited in this opportunity to help out fellow man and people in need. Why, even a few teachers came in and donated blood.

While people were waiting patiently (no pun intended) to get their blood drawn I took the liberty of bombarding them with several questions about their blood giving experience, regardless if it was their first or 50th donation. I even interviewed some of the doctors performing the blood drive. The six common questions that I asked each student were as follows.

1) What do you think about giving blood?

2) Have you ever given blood before?

3) How was your experience giving blood? (Past/present)

4) Do you know what your blood type is?

5) Do you think you’ll continue to give blood?

6) Have you ever donated blood outside of blood drives at school?

For all six questions there was a wide variety of answers ranging from Brittany Bissen’s answer to question 1. “I’m really nervous and scared but answered the call to save lives;” to Coach Juel’s straightforward answer of “It’s good.” And “one should do it if healthy.” And Renae Schnack’s, “It makes me feel good about myself that I can help someone in need.” Most people at the blood drive today have given blood before. (About 75%) While most people they say they really good giving blood and its a great feeling afterwards some have other reasons that make their blood giving experience great such as Shawn Miller’s statement of getting “free stuff and food” after giving blood. While most people didn’t’ know their own blood types I’ve compiled a list and created a bar graph polling the different types of blood.

With the exception of a few negative responses, most ecstatically answered yes to my inquiry if they think they’ll continue to give blood. While most people haven’t donated outside of the school blood drive, a few students have, and for the most part “it’s the same, the only difference is that there are responsible students working here verses adults, like you would see working the blood donation at the “Vets,” but for the most part its the same.” (Sami Brown) Other’s noticed a few more differences like “the little poker thing is different and that it’s better at the school but there were nicer nurses at the vets.” (Ranae Schnack)

Even though everyone had different things to say, each person I interviewed had something incommon regarding the people that have never donated blood or might be afraid to donate, “Get over it. It’s a real rewarding experience.”(Ranae Schnack) “Drink a lot of water and it’s not as scary as people make it out to be. Besides you could save someone’s or your own life.” (Rachel Rasmussen)

“Just try it. It’s ok to chicken out but it’s important to try and help other people.” (Brittany Bissen) “It’s not scary, just don’t look at the needle. I think the most painful thing is getting your blood tested for your iron and hemoglobin levels. Besides what’s a little pain when you could save someone’s life and have a good feeling for the rest of the day?”(Sami Brown)

I was also fortunate enough to bug some of the doctors to the point that they would just love to have an interview with me if, in return, I would go away. The first doctor I interviewed went by the name of Kerry B. aka the doctor with the sunny disposition. He informed me of some interesting facts about blood donating. “About 5% of the population donates blood and the other 95% doesn’t. It’s quite a shame really.” When I asked him about how much blood is used immediatley after donation he quickly responded that “if your blood type is O(+\-) there is a 99% chance that your blood will be used within the day after being processed.” He also stated that the use for the platelets and plasma ranges from IV’s to cancer patients, making it “the most commonly used parts of blood.” And despite what anyone says, “every blood type is in high demand accept for the Type AB.”

Finally, the other doctor that I interviewed goes by the name of Zachary M. He informed me that at a blood drive there are actually two ways of giving blood. The traditional way, which most people went through, and Double Red cell Aphaeresis. “Double red’s take about 35 minutes to the traditional five to six minutes because they take out two units (180ML per unit) of red blood cells and put back the plasma and platelets. Currently this cuts down the costs of processing blood and reduces delivery time to hospitals.” At the moment blood levels are critical. “Type A lasts about 3 days, Type B two days, and Type O about 16 hours.” When I asked him to confirm what the other doctor said about the percentage of the population that gives blood he elegantly corrected Sunny disposition doctor by saying, “yes 5% of the population does give blood but that isn’t entirely true. Only 5% of the eligible population gives blood which is about 60% of the total population. So in actuality that 5% is a much smaller number.”

Article written by Jimmy McKean