Thirty students braved the needles and participated in the Red Cross blood drive that was held on Monday, May 20. The blood was donated to local hospital patients in need of blood transfusions.
The drive was hosted by the Modern Medicine Club and organized by its president, junior Elisa Fazzari.
“I contacted the Bay Area Red Cross chapter and they were really happy. They always need blood, of course,” Fazzari said. “I really believe in their cause. One of the main things they do is hold blood drives, and it really saves lives. That’s what I want to do when I grow up, be a doctor and save lives.”
A Red Cross bus was parked on the South Lawn from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Inside, students laid down on mats and squeezed colorful rubber balls as cheery nurses drew blood.
According to club member Geneva Gondak, the Modern Medicine Club is affiliated with the Red Cross, which often holds blood drives at high schools.
Each student donated about a pint of blood, which is enough to save up to three lives. After the donation, the blood is sent to nearby hospitals where it is frozen, processed, and tested. It is then categorized by type and distributed to patients. Red blood cells are stored and must be used within 42 days.
Before the procedure, Red Cross workers screened students for about 20 minutes in preparation of donating in the safest and healthiest manner. Students were questioned about medical history, previous illnesses, and even recent travel – one was denied the ability to donate after mentioning that he’d recently traveled to Central America. Fazzari said that the Red Cross is particularly strict about blood donations, especially among high schoolers. Most students were juniors and seniors due to requirements for height, weight, and age.
“Almost everyone during their life will know someone who needs a blood transfusion,” states the introduction to A Student’s Guide to Blood Donation, an informational packet distributed by the Red Cross. “There is no substitute and still only one source of blood for transfusion – volunteer blood donors.”
“I thought [donating blood] was for a good cause,” said senior Lillie Konttinen. “I have a friend who has leukemia, so that’s why I’m doing it.”
Other students agreed that giving blood was a worthy, and even exciting, experience.
“I’m a little scared of needles, so I got sort of an adrenaline rush,” said senior Christie Chenette.
“I’m an organ donor on my driver’s license, and I think that’s a really cool thing.”
Gondak said she hopes the event will become a tradition for Redwood.
“We’d like to thank the students who did it this year and want to continue this annually,” Gondak said. “It’s something you can do that’s free, it’s easy, and it’s helping so many people.”
Before giving blood, senior Max Rosenberg said, “Your body regenerates itself, so why wouldn’t you want to save some lives? It’s so easy, it almost seems selfish not to.”
