National Honor Society holds annual blood drive at Westwood

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Delaney DeTitta, Editor in Chief

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On Tuesday, March 22, The National Honor Society (NHS) of Westwood Jr./Sr. High School continued its annual tradition and held a blood drive. Students 16 and older were able to donate blood, signing up in the nurse’s office at a time between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Teachers were also given the chance to donate.

The students of NHS were responsible for signing up at for times to sit at a table and help donors sign in and out, as well as help them relax after giving away a pint of their blood. They also brought in one food or drink item which contained a sufficient amount of sugar for the people donating to decrease the risks of fainting and help keep everyone’s blood sugar level up.

The process to give blood started off with a sheet that contained a series of questions that needed to be answered as well as personal information–this was for a guarantee that the donor’s blood was safe to put into other people’s bodies. Questions that were asked mainly focused on different medications and possible diseases. They also made sure the donor had a good breakfast and drank plenty of fluids before donating so passing out would not be as likely. Students were then told to go into one of two buses to continue their donation process.

First, a finger prick was taken to make sure iron levels were high enough; anything below a 12.5 meant the donor was not eligible to give blood. Body temperatures were also taken, anyone whose temperature was above a 99.4 could not donate. Making sure everyone was healthy enough to give to others was something that was very emphasized and very important.

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The buses were narrow and aligned with beds for those donating. Nurses would then begin the actual process of taking a pint of blood from everyone who was able. There were many first timers giving blood at the drive. There were also some students who have given blood before including Melissa Rissetto. Rissetto said, “This is not my first time giving blood, this is actually my third, I signed up because I wanted to say that I sort of saved a life, or helped someone who really needed it–it’s worth the tiredness and a little bit of dizziness.”

“Be nice to me I gave blood today” stickers shaped as hearts were given out to those who donated. There was 119 people who registered to give blood, some were possibly rejected to due various reasons. However, 119 is the highest number that Westwood has seen for the annual blood drive.IMG_4434