You can see the fear building in students as they wait in the long line to donate blood for the Inova Blood Drive. Some students were becoming restless as they were waiting to be called upon. Junior Larry Le said,”I’m feeling impatient because the line is so big.”

The blood drive has been going on for at least seven years at AHS. This year Leadership set up the blood drive, signing up students and getting everything assembled. More student were able to participate in the blood drive this year because the age requirement dropped to 16 years, old unlike last year which was 17. Junior Grace Franje said, “169 students signed up for the blood drive, and our goal was 172 but with the walk-ins we met our goal.”

By giving just 20 minutes of their time and one pint of blood students can help save three lives. “I wanted to donate blood because the fact that it saves lives and I heard it is good for your body to donate blood because then it produces new blood” said senior Paulihna Sorbi.

Some students like Darlene Reyes were scared to give blood, she said, “I am a bit nervous and anxious because this is my first time [donating blood]” Joey Mazzara felt differently saying, “I am not too nervous because the people are highly trained and the pain is not a big deal- it’s just a little pinch.”

Students had to prepare before and after giving blood by eating properly, staying hydrated, and refraining from any strenuous activity. “I kept hydrated throughout the day by drinking a lot of water,” said junior Darlene Reyes.

The process of giving blood is fairly simple but extensive measures are taken to make sure the blood is usable and the donor is safe. The process begins when donors come in, they fill out paperwork and do a health history to see if the donor is eligible to donate because if a person has a disease it may be transmitted through blood. If the donor passes, vital signs are checked. Their iron level is checked by doing a finger stick; which is done to protect the donor. If their iron level is high enough to safely donate, the nurse then takes them to phlebotomy (obtaining blood from a vein). The arm is then sanitized to get any bacteria off the surface of their skin. Terence Cochram of the Inova Blood donor services said, “Blood is the perfect medium for bacterial growth because its warm and wet and that is what germs love.”

The nurse then puts a 16 gauge needle into their arm and takes 500cc of blood (one pint). The line is then tied off to stop the process, then the nurse carefully pulls out the needle. The donor then goes to get refreshments for at least 15 minutes because that is when donor reactions are most likely to happen.

The blood drive was a successful event where students were able to help the community.