On Oct. 27, 2022, the long-awaited blood drive was held in the school auditorium. During the school day between periods 1 and 9 students from all grades donated a portion of their blood to the New York Blood Center. 

If someone gets into an accident, needs surgery, or is diagnosed with cancer, having blood is vital. According to the American Red Cross, in the last six seconds three people have had a transfusion somewhere in the USA. For that reason, blood donors are just as much heroes as the ones you see in comics, movies, and books. During this event, the many brave students that decided to give their own blood during the drive became heroes.

Students went all throughout the school day, usually during a free period or their lunch to talk to Mr. Colbert, who was accompanied by the student council. They were then directed to a privacy screen and filled out a survey to see if it was safe for them to give blood. After a brief waiting period they would go up on stage to get a quick pinch to safely and smoothly extracted their blood. Soon after that, the students were given lots of snacks and water to replenish their energy. Around 10 to 15 minutes after that they were free to go. 

But of course, the students were not the only contributors, as the staff from our school as well as the New York Blood center were also there. During an interview they shared some disturbing facts about the state of the blood center. One staffer explained that “after the COVID-19 pandemic, the center is having difficulties keeping up with demand and needs blood more than ever.” If hearing this is disturbing to you then you have a good heart, and a good heart can beat good blood! You can have blood safely donated at a local blood drive near you, or you can find out more information at the new york blood center website. 

If donating blood outside of school isn’t an option, don’t lose hope because Mr. Colbert said that there will be a second blood drive in the Spring.