by Elizabeth Reed, assistant editor
Last Wednesday and Thursday, students signed up to donate blood if they met the requirements for weight, height and age requirements for HOSA‘s blood drive through the Red Cross. All in all, HOSA collected 133 pints of blood to be donated. First time donor Kayla Brock said she signed up as soon as she knew she could.
“I was glad to be able to [donate],” Brock said. “I thought it would be a cool experience.”
However, Brock was anxious at the idea of giving blood.
“I was a little nervous, I’m not scared of needles or anything,” Brock said. “Losing a pint of blood can be a little intimidating.”
However, the benefit of donating blood was more important to Brock than the intimidation.
“I think it’s the coolest thing ever,” Brock said. “When I was done, they told me ‘You saved three lives today,’ and I thought that was super awesome.”
For returning donor, junior Joey Medina, donating blood to people in need was mutually rewarding.
“I don’t know who they are, but knowing that it’s going to do good for somebody,” Medina said. “It’s a good [thought] to think about.”
After going through the questioning process and receiving a prick in the finger, which Brock says “[hurts] the most,” to make sure iron levels are high enough and the blood isn’t otherwise contaminated, donors sit down at a table to have their blood pressure taken. For Medina, his second time donating went better than the first.
“I passed out the first time I gave blood; the second time I felt tired,” Medina said.
Both Medina and Brock plan to donate in the future. For future first-time donors, Medina offered a word of advice.
“[Donors] might feel really off for the rest of the day,” Medina said. “You’re going to be really slow– getting up the stairs is going to be a hassle.”
To those who might be afraid to donate blood, Brock offered advice.
“Expect to be nervous, the needle doesn’t hurt at all; I guess that’s just me because I’m not scared of needles,” Brock said. “It’s not as bad as [people] make it out to be.”
Want to donate blood? Check out the Red Cross for information on more local blood drives, as well as the Blood Center Brazos Valley.
