How To Save Three Lives In (Just About) An Hour
Interested in saving three lives in one fell swoop? Well, on Friday, November 3, the Bacon Academy auditorium was used for just that.. Although the saving of lives wasn’t going on at the high school itself, there was a collection held to gather a material that roughly 30 people require each minute in order to live. This event involved needles, generous volunteers, and brave Bacon Academy students and faculty. What was this precious material they were seeking? Blood.
The American Red Cross is an organization dedicated to helping those in need of blood transfusions through blood drives held across the nation. At Bacon Academy alone there are roughly 3 Blood Drives a year and others can be found at local churches, among other places.
Blood Drives are wonderful and all, but why should someone donate? An estimated 36,000 units of red blood cells are required every day within the United States, with a car accident victim needing up to 100 pints of blood alone. Although roughly 38% of the United States population is eligible to donate, only 10% choose to do so each year. Those who donate need to be in good health while satisfying the Red Cross’ height, weight, iron level, and blood pressure requirements, among other rules. For example, traveling to certain areas of the world where specific diseases are common or carrying an STD will get someone deferred from donating.
The donation process is really quite simple and consists of only four steps, the first being registering to donate. The second is a short physical in which Red Cross staff asks you questions to ensure your eligibility to donate and includes a finger prick to check the iron levels in your blood. The third step is the donation itself, which typically only takes 10-12 minutes. The fourth and final step is consuming snacks and drinks after losing roughly 1/10 of your blood supply in order to provide you with the necessary energy to replenish the blood you just lost. The blood is then packaged and sent off to hospitals where it will be readily available for when it needs to be used.
On average, the whole process takes up an hour and fifteen minutes, and could potentially result in saving someone’s life. Those who can’t donate can help in many other ways, such as volunteering time to work at the Blood Drive or maybe even organizing one. Between helping others, free food, and getting out of class, everyone eligible should consider donating their time and blood when Bacon Academy’s next Blood Drive rolls around.
“Blood Facts and Statistics.” American Red Cross, American National Red Cross, 2017.
