In partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 students and faculty members donated blood as part of a blood drive hosted by the Algonquin chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) on March 11.
According to the Red Cross, 20,000 blood donations were canceled due to the severe winter weather, further contributing to the growing blood shortage. This critical nationwide blood shortage prompted the junior HOSA co-presidents Isabella Triompo, Caity O’Hearn and Shreyas Potharaju to organize this event for the third time. Though HOSA arranges the events, staff from Massachusetts General Hospital conduct the procedure.
“[Mass General] deals with all the actual medical work,” O’Hearn said. “They hire the nurses, they have all the equipment, and we just have to work on getting signups, making sure people bring their ID’s and consent forms.”
After the nurses check the donor’s vitals and clear them for the phlebotomy, they proceed to extract blood from the median cubital vein located at the bend of the elbow, as it is the most stable, according to Medscape. The amount of blood drawn is dependent on the person as well.
HOSA adviser and Biology teacher Lori Mott emphasizes that this event benefits not only people in need of blood, but also HOSA members.
“It’s a really great way for HOSA members to get involved in something in our community,” Mott said. “This is a perfect fit for that given that we are a group of health-minded students.”
Advertising through social media and posters around the school were some of the ways information about the blood drive was shared, but the challenge of encouraging people to sign up remained constant.
“There’s not really a huge incentive; it’s a donation, and you can’t make people do it,” O’Hearn said. “I think that a lot of people expressed to us that they were nervous about needles, but the reason we keep bringing the blood drive back is that it’s a good cause, and a lot of students have positive experiences with it.”
With 67 people registered, 55 people, the highest amount on record, were successfully able to donate blood during the six-hour time period, as many were turned away due to safety regulations, like high or low blood pressure.
Senior Chris Sadek, a first-time donor and HOSA member, was inspired to donate blood after learning that, contrary to popular belief, the process is very simple.
“It isn’t that bad,” Sadek said. “It didn’t hurt. We are young, healthy teenagers, and just one donation can save four lives.”
Mott stresses the importance of donating blood and hopes that in the future, more people will sign up to do so.
“We can’t make blood in a lab,” Mott said. “The only place we get blood and blood products is from donors. People who are really sick need this, and it’s something you can do, and you have plenty of it. Things are a little grim these days, and so this is one positive thing we can do.”
