March 2, 2023
By Guest Contributors Anna Zingale & Marleigh McFarland
From the Eastland-Fairfield Career Academy
Blood is a necessity that nobody can live without. Blood donation saves millions of lives each year but the need for blood is still rapidly growing. The importance of blood donation is not a topic that is often taught and not everybody is educated on what one pint of blood can do for somebody. Just one pint of blood (one donation) can save up to three lives which is huge! People can make such a large impact with little to no effort.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, blood supply has been in extremely high demand. In January of 2022, the American Red Cross declared their first ever national blood crisis and the blood supply has not yet bounced back.
Many people know that blood is essential but are scared to go through a blood donation. The blood donation process takes about an hour but most of that time is the recovery and paperwork. The drawing of the blood takes only 8-10 minutes.
Many people are eligible to donate blood, but they are not aware. The age requirements vary between states. In Ohio, you can donate blood at age 16 with parental consent. If you are 17 or older, you may donate without parental consent. You must bring your I.D with you so that the staff can identify you. You have to be feeling well the day of your donation and you must wait eight weeks in between donations.
How do you prepare to donate? The night before donation it is important to feel your best. Make sure to get a good night sleep and eat protein and iron rich foods for dinner. It is very important to stay hydrated the day before you donate and to drink at least an extra 16 ounces of water before your donation. Make sure you know where your I.D is the night before; you will need this to donate. To find an upcoming blood drive near you, please visit RedCrossBlood.org. Get ready to save some lives!
About us: We are two high school students with the Eastland-Fairfield Career Center, we are campaigning for blood donation for a Community Awareness project for HOSA. HOSA is for Future Health Professionals to take action and compete with presentations, trivia, projects and more.
At regionals we placed second and we move onto states on March 16th and 17th. Our main goal is to spread awareness on the importance of blood donation to hopefully encourage others to donate. If you are eligible to donate, please consider doing so. Blood is an essential part of our healthcare system, and your donation can make a huge difference.
