Farragut community donates to the OneBlood Blood Drive
Timothy Kucherenko ‘19 shows off his universal blood type
Nothing shows the beating heart of the Farragut Family so well as when we give back to our community and to those in need. On Friday, October 13th, our students got a chance to do just that when the OneBlood Blood Bus rolled onto campus.
More than 20 students and employees donated blood during the blood drive, and they all had their reasons for doing it.
“I have type O- blood,” said Timothy Kucherenko ‘19. “I’m a universal donor. Ever since I found that out, I’ve donated blood every chance I get.”
Carlos Riva-Palacio ‘18 gives blood
“My dad was shot in the leg once,” said Carlos Riva-Palacio ‘18, an international student from Mexico. “It was really hard finding blood for him. I donate so that it’ll be easier for other people to get blood.”
“I hope it goes out to cancer patients,” said James Sands ‘18. “I know people who have been diagnosed with cancer, so that’s important to me.”
(L-R) Josh Fixler ’19, James Sands ’18, and Joshua Six ’19 wait to give blood
Each pint of blood donated has the ability to help up to three people. After the blood is donated, it is then taken immediately back to the lab to process and separate. After three days of testing, it is ready to be taken to the hospital. Red blood cells help trauma victims and surgery patients, plasma helps burn victims, and platelets help chemotherapy patients.
“A lot of it goes to help in the Tampa Bay area,” Kayla Kolb, the representative from OneBlood, said. “But since we’re one of the largest suppliers of blood in the area, we’ve sent blood out to Houston, Las Vegas, and Puerto Rico recently as well when they needed it.”
Timothy Kucherenko ‘19 signs up to give blood with OneBlood representative Kayla Kolb.
The Blood Bus will be back at Farragut on Friday, December 15th, and two more times in 2018 on Friday, February 2nd and Friday, April 13th. All are welcome to donate on those days.
“I feel it’s a good thing to do to give people hope,” said Joshua Six ‘19. “To give them a sense that there are people out there who care about them.”
To find out more information about donating or about OneBlood, visit https://oneblood.org.
Learn about other community service projects our students have been involved in.
