After weeks of waiting, Hays High School hosted one of its annual blood drives on Friday, May 9 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Gym B. It was organized by the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and the Red Cross foundation in the Hays community.
The event, which was originally planned for earlier this year, had to be pushed back due to Hays High not having school. HOSA sponsors Daniel Dickerson and Jennifer Olt had to work around this scheduling issue.
“We faced many challenges when rescheduling because Mrs. Olt and I couldn’t be there to represent HOSA, as we help facilitate the blood drive,” Dickerson said.
During the blood drive, HOSA club members played many roles to keep everything running smoothly. They signed in blood donors, offered snacks and drinks after donations and helped anyone who felt lightheaded or sick after giving blood.
Dickerson expressed the importance of HOSA student volunteers, not only to make the day run smoothly but to also motivate students to donate. He said that fear often prevents students from donating blood the first time.
“Students think that it’s going to be painful, but it’s really not,” Dickerson said. “You may feel a little pressure at first, but that’s it.”
Despite this, each year, many students at Hays High help by donating. One of these students was sophomore Kamden McBride, who said he was not scared, but excited to give blood for the first time at the drive.
“My mom and sister both have anemia, so they can’t donate blood even though they want to,” McBride said. “I wanted to donate because I can for them, and I want to help others.”
In total, the club hoped to collect around 30 units of blood. According to Red Cross, one unit of blood can save up to three people. This means the drive could make a difference in hospitals and emergency rooms across the region. That follows the club’s overall mission, which is to promote health and service.
For students who did not get a chance to donate during this blood drive, HOSA and Red Cross plan on hosting more blood drives at Hays High in the future to keep making a difference, one donation at a time. For those, Dickerson said HOSA plans to make changes, so things run even smoother.
“We have a lot of walk-ins, so next year we may leave more spaces available to them,” Dickerson said.
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