STA hosted their annual Blood Drive Friday March 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Goppert Center. Donors were required to be at least 16 years old and at least 115 lbs by March 31. A total of 96 people donated: 16 faculty and staff members, 34 seniors, 34 juniors and 12 sophomores. Students who donated were allowed to dress down for the day.

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Community Blood Centers worked in association with the STA Pre-health Club to put on the blood drive. 96 members of the STA faculty and staff were signed up to donate. photo by Gabby Staker

“Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood,” wrote senior Lydia Lundquist. “Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S. Nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S. Nearly 21 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.”

Bill Hartel and his wife, Pat, are approaching their two year anniversary as volunteers for Community Blood Center. They are “couriers,” Hartel said, transporting blood from the donation locations to the central location for processing. They volunteer about once a week- two if they were out of town.

Although the Hartel’s can’t have anything to do with taking the blood or treating the people that are donating, volunteers from STA made sure that donors received snacks afterward and were on hand to talk with donors while their blood was being drawn.

The Community Blood Center’s Blood Donor Parent/Guardian Permission Form advised that in order to prevent complications, donors should drink fluids, eat well (specifically something salty), get a proper amount of sleep the night before and sit or lie down afterward if experiencing dizziness.

Senior Amy Finn donated during Activity 1, and said she felt fine afterward.

“I have really deep veins, so they kind of had to fish around for the vein, and it didn’t necessarily hurt, it was just kind of uncomfortable, I guess,” Finn said. “I’m not afraid of blood or anything.”

Math teacher Diana Blessen decided to donate blood, simply because “they need it.”

“I need to be doing this more often, so I’m thankful that they come here to me,” Blessen said.