Students give back at OneBlood blood drive
Camille Walker ’17 shows off her bandage outside the Blood Bus.
On Friday, April 15th, 2016, OneBlood brought a Blood Bus on campus so that students and staff could donate, and the results were overwhelming. 39 people donated, including 36 students and three staff members, and together they donated a total of approximately 24 pints of 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. Because of this, Admiral Farragut Academy was able to help up to 72 people in need!
Angie Koebel was one of three staff members to donate.
“We had a great turn out,” said Kayla Kolb, the representative from OneBlood. “There were so many that we will have to bring a larger bus and an extra staff member next time to keep up with the demand.”
Francesca Akel ’16 smiles as she gives blood.
The extra space will be welcome. Students were waiting for 30 minutes just to get onto the bus, and after that it took about 45 minutes to finish the entire process.
Stephanie Bailey ’18 and Sean Boland ’18 wait their turn to give blood.
The bus they brought this time had room for four people to give blood in the front, plus two Alyx stations in the back. Alyx is a process where the donor gives two pints of red blood cells, after which the plasma and platelets are put back into their system. Three donors were able to do this process, giving even more help to those in need.
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.
