Valley students donate blood at the American Red Cross blood drive bus.
By Morgan Bertsch, Staff Writer
The American Red Cross blood drive took place on Sep. 21 giving students from all over campus a chance to save lives.
“Each bag of blood can help three people,” said Brittany Ductoc, a registered nurse who works for the Red Cross. “Every person donates one unit of blood, one pint of blood, and that can be separated into the three components: the red blood cells, the plasma, and the platelets. That's three different people that it can help.”
If someone would like to make a life saving donation of their blood they must be aware of the qualifying factors. To qualify as a donor, participants must weigh over 110 pounds and be at least 5 feet tall for males and 5 feet and 6 inches for female donors. Those that wish to contribute blood must also prepare to provide a list of their current medications and medical conditions. This is done to ensure the safety of people donating blood as some patients may experience fainting or fatigue after which can be dangerous to those with certain conditions like anemia.
Participants can use a rapid pass to answer a questionnaire on their phone and then donate their blood. After that they would wait outside and be given snacks and water until a spot in the American Red Cross bus was open for the donation process.
“The advice I would give to people is to not be afraid about the needles because I know that’s mainly what the people are scared about,” said nursing major Miribella Ambrosio. “Just simply breathe, think about all the people you are helping, all the lives you are saving.”
Students who gave blood said they didn’t mind the process, and some even found it helpful.
“They actually said it’s good for your body, it’s like maintenance, like an oil change for yourself,” said first semester student Brooke Zadra. “It was way faster than I thought, it only took like 15 minutes. It was my first time and I was nervous but super worth it and easy. It helps so many people for like 30 minutes total of your life and like a pinch on the arm you could save someone.”
To find a site near you where you can help save a life by giving blood you can look up https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.