On Monday April 13th, Billings Central Catholic High School’s (BCCHS) National Honor Society (NHS) worked alongside Vitalant Blood Donation Billings to put together a blood drive for students and staff. The blood drive, took place in the school’s wrestling room, lasted the better part of the day. Vitalant sent three phlebotomists, healthcare professionals who collect blood, to handle the blood drawing alongside the help of 11 NHS volunteers who guided blood donors in signing forms and being present at designated blood drawing times.
While similar in set-up to previous blood drives at BCCHS, this year NHS took the place of the BCCHS Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) in working alongside Vitalant to put together the blood drive. Krista Cunningham, supervisor of HOSA remarked that, “They [Vitalant] bring their people here who are incredibly good at what they do, they help with all the sign ups, so—on our end—all we really have to do is to push those sign ups.”
In the weeks leading up to the blood drive, Co-Supervisor of NHS, Heidi Zilch, posted several Schoology announcements inviting students to donate blood and provided them with the necessary permission slips for those under 18 wanting to donate. This yielded 20 blood donors, 19 of whom were students and 1 who was a teacher. As a Catholic and service-oriented high school, Central students participate in a number of volunteer opportunities, but few are directly responsible for saving lives. Central does its best to offer these various opportunities for the betterment of the community and its students. As Zilch explained, “Any opportunity that Central can connect with the community and opportunities for students to serve even beyond their time in high school is a value to students.”
(From L to R)
Seniors, Alex Johnson and Ella Fairbanks, President and Secretary of National Honors Society volunteering by signing blood donors in. (Courtesy )
While the blood drive did see a number of student donors, certain constraints may have hindered the number of volunteers. Cunningham remarked that “the hard part is the age restrictions and having to have a parent permission.” Coupled with weight and hemoglobin level requirements, some students may find it difficult to donate. Still, for those who can and are willing to donate, it is “an incredibly amazing way to give back to the community, and it’s a way not every person can do or that you could do at any given point in your life,” said Cunningham.
According to the American Red Cross, as of January 20th, the U.S. is experiencing a severe blood shortage with blood supply falling about 35% during the month of January. Blood donations are essential to trauma patients, patients undergoing surgery, and treating blood disorders. Without donors, patients’ lives are put in jeopardy. Both students who have donated before and those who have not can help save lives. For these reasons, Zilch states, “Especially for students who’ve never donated blood before, I would encourage them to try it out the first time…it kind’ve creates this attitude of being a lifelong servant.” While the blood drive does offer a convenient opportunity for students to volunteer, Vitalant’s Billings location is always open to those students looking to donate more regularly.
For those interested in donating, you can call Vitalant Blood Donation at (877) 258-4825 or check out their website at vitalant.org.
