Students, staff donate 150 pints at blood drive
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 About twice as many students and staff donated blood at the fall drive on Nov. 6 than the spring drive last year. A total of 150 pints was collected. Additionally, about 20 donors participated in the ALYX system, which was the highest number LifeSource Blood Services has experienced since opening that method up to school blood drives.
The ALYX system, which removes only red blood cells, requires about 10 more minutes to donate but collects two times the normal donation per person. Also, the blood could be used to help a cancer patient as early as later the same night.
P.E. teacher Mike Gedville said the P.E. Department's goal was to improve upon last spring's drive. In addition to collecting more pints of blood, which partially is the result of a senior class in the building this year, the process went more smoothly than last year. About double the number of technicians worked the drive, which cut back the wait time to 10 or 15 minutes.
The P.E. Department plans to host another drive in the spring. The two drives qualifies the school for a scholarship of up to $5,000. The scholarship will be designed for a student in his or her senior year who demonstrates selflessness. |
