On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Peer Helping Blood Drive was held at New Trier. With only 98 student participants out of 4,000 students, the cause doesn’t seem to get as much support as it should. Perhaps this is because people don’t know what goes on during a blood drive.
The blood drive took place from 7:30 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon in the PESO gym, which is the location of all New Trier Blood Drives. For every event, a company is brought in to run the drive. This recent blood drive was run by a new company, Heartland Blood Centers. According to Sarah Fergus, a sponsor for Peer Helping, the new company was able to provide the school with more beds and staff. “We’re also hoping for a smoother experience with this company,” Fergus said.
The process certainly is smooth. Upon entering the PESO gym, I simply had to read a packet for information about donating blood, sign in, and then proceed through a few steps of evaluation to make sure I could donate. The Heartland staff members asked me a few questions, and I was left to fill out an easy and quick survey to determine whether I was safe for donating. After all the questions were answered, I had my blood pressure checked and my finger pricked to make sure I had enough iron in my blood.
Some of this may seem scary, but it’s really nothing compared to the aid given by donating a liter of blood. “Each donation saves three lives,” said Fergus. Imagine how many lives our whole school could save.
As the donation process continued, I was asked to sit down, drink water, and eat pretzels. Salty foods is one of the key factors in recovering from donating blood. According to one of the Heartland staff members, the salt helps the body retain fluids, which in turn replenishes blood. When I was ready, I went with a nurse to a small station where another employee was ready to draw my blood.
The actual process of giving blood is probably what scares most people. Let me tell you: it’s nothing once you’ve done it, and it’s immensely rewarding to know how you’ve helped. Also, the staff members make the process easy. Employees at blood drives aren’t at all intimidating, and when I was there, I saw nurses and Peer Helping members all around, each of them making the process more comfortable for the participants.
When you are donating, the staff member asks you a few questions, has you lie down, and then rubs some simple antiseptic on your arm. The needle is then inserted (which doesn’t hurt much at all), and then you’re giving blood.
The actual donating can take fifteen to twenty minutes, and then donors are required to wait for another twenty minutes to eat and drink something. This simply allows you to gain some energy back while the staff members make sure that you are okay to go back to classes. From there, Heartland Blood Centers takes the blood and processes it.
It seems that a lot of people are afraid that they will faint, but for the most part, this is an irrational fear. It’s important to eat a healthy breakfast, get plenty of sleep the night before, and drink a lot of water. If you abide by these rules, the whole process is sure to go smoothly, and I doubt you’ll find yourself lightheaded in the slightest.
Another trepidation I’ve heard of is the concern people have that their blood is useless if it’s not type O. Yes, type O blood is great (it is the universal donor), but every blood type can still save lives. Blood is blood, and it’s what keeps people alive.
So there you are, the blood donating process demystified. While the Peer Helping blood drives does get participation, there could be more if people only knew how easy and rewarding the process is. With this in mind, perhaps next time a blood drive comes around, we should all consider donating to such a good cause. One donation saves three lives. If just half of us participate, we can save 6,000.