On November 30th, Whitney Young’s MediClub partnered with the American Red Cross to hold its first school-wide blood drive right here in Gold House. As a board member of Mediclub, I can without a doubt say that orchestrating this event wasn’t an easy feat. Months of meticulous planning and countless emails, phone calls, and flyers, culminated in a total donation of 42 pints of blood to patients in need.
Donating blood is not a simple process. There are many requirements and a thorough screening process in place before a donor is cleared to have their blood drawn. Every unit of blood is tested to identify the donor’s blood group (O, A, B, or AB) and Rh type, and screened for atypical or unusual red cell antibodies. The Red Cross also checks your hemoglobin levels, which is a protein in your red blood cells that contains iron, before each donation to confirm that you are healthy enough to donate. Post-donation, the blood is also tested for various diseases such as Malaria, Hepatitis B/C, HIV/AIDS, Sickle Cell disease, and other infectious diseases to ensure it is usable.
MediClub President, Ethan Wong, spearheaded the initiative to organize this blood drive after the Red Cross proposed the idea to the school. “While organizing the drive was an immense challenge, we were thrilled to accomplish it and extend our gratitude to everyone who chose to donate,” expressed Ethan.
Many of those who donated had a great experience and appreciated the opportunity to give back to their community. Kael Moy, a senior at WY, describes the process as being “a lot quicker than I thought” and feels glad to have helped someone in need. WY Junior Rahael-Anne Achett states that she donated because “I felt like it was the right thing to do and it’s what I would have wanted someone to do if I needed blood, and also because of the cute elf socks.” It’s true, all donors received free Red Cross swag! Sean Paz, a member of MediClub and senior said he decided to donate because “I know other people are in situations where their lives are dependent on another, so it’s always good to be generous.” Tyson Kenneth, a fellow MediClub board member and senior, describes how “even though the idea of getting my blood drawn scares me, seeing everyone donate blood and helping out for a good cause prompted me to donate blood as well. And in the end, I was proud of myself for being able to save a life.”
I want to thank the American Red Cross volunteers, MediClub, and everyone who donated blood to make this initiative a great success! And if you didn’t get a chance to donate this time around, fear not! We are already working hard to plan our spring blood drive, so make sure to sign up in March, and we hope to see you there!
