Up to 162 lives were saved today by the Griffin community as a result of Student Council hosting a blood drive through the American Red Cross. There were 81 people who showed up to donate, 31 more than Student Council’s original goal. They also surpassed their goal for units of blood being collected, ending with 54 units after the 6-hour drive.
“I thought today was successful,” Student Council sponsor Sierra Arnold said. “We had a lot of bumps to navigate with this being our first blood drive, and we have a lot of things to learn for next year, but overall it was a great start.”
Reasons for deciding to donate varied from donor to donor.
“I just wanted to help and I was like ‘Why not, it’s just blood,’” junior Kendall Logan said.
The added bonus of missing class to help others was a motivator for some students.
“I wanted to get out of class, and I wanted to save people,” sophomore Nicholas Hatcher said.
Although the number of donors exceeded the original goal, 13 donors, mostly made up of students, were turned away because they did not meet the Red Cross requirements. There were also five no-show appointments, but of the students who were able to donate, the majority said they had a positive experience.
“I’d say pulling the needle out and the finger prick was the worst,” junior Hailey Levinson said. “It was easy.”
Overall the students felt that the process was easier than they expected and they encourage others to donate now.
“I’ll for sure donate again,” Levinson said.
The amount of support was a pleasant surprise for Arnold.
“I anticipated a lot more apprehension from the donors, but there’s a lot of excitement and pride from them after they donate,” she said.
Students weren’t the only donors in high spirits. Fifteen staff members also signed up to donate. Some even opted for the “Power Red” donation, which is “similar to a whole blood donation, except a special machine is used to allow you to safely donate two units of red blood cells during one donation while returning your plasma and platelets to you,” according to the Red Cross.
“With Power Red, I leave feeling more refreshed than after giving just a full unit ‘cause they’re giving some stuff back,” Brandon Shostak said. “I’m married to a nurse and she says if you can give Power Red, do so ‘cause the double red cells help a lot.”
To help get donors like Shostak checked in and ready to donate, Student Council worked the event and helped the Red Cross employees as needed.
“We had people working on check-in, people monitoring snacks, but I think their biggest role was being the support system for the donors,” Arnold said. “They were there through the whole procedure, just talking then through the nerves, and helping distract them during some of those uncomfortable moments.”
With the months of planning for today’s blood drive coming to fruition, Arnold is already thinking about the next one.
“Next year we will do better to organize the appointment times,” she said. “I thought our biggest deficit was the wait times.”
Aside from some complaints about the wait times, overall the blood drive was a success.
