The annual winter blood drive date is going to be on December 17.  

Organizer Kathy Thiebes said, “You can’t manufacture blood; you can only get it from people donating it, and you think about how many people need blood, not just for extreme emergencies, but for normal things.”

“We can only sustain that in this country by people donating, so it’s a really important part of our community and our healthcare system,” said Thiebes. 

High schools are important donation sights, because it’s the place where people get introduced to the idea of donating.

The process starts by signing up with Thiebes , then they’ll give you a scheduled time to go donate. Once you get there, they will have you read paperwork that explains the process and what is going to happen. Once you agree to that, you go to a triage nurse and she goes over basic medical background, and personal history to make sure you’re clear to donate.

For the blood drive, three Red Cross blood buses come down and that is where they do all the donations. Sign ups start the first week of December, you’ll get asked a couple questions, and if you pass them, you’re eligible to sign up.

The length of the process depends on the person, but usually take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. You will be excused from class to donate, but they suggest checking in with your teacher first. 

You must be 16 years old to donate,but you need parent permission. seventeen and up you don’t need parent permission. On average, 120 students sign up, and usually 70-90 actually donate.

¨I would prefer they did not donate during season. Especially on game day, but i’m also not real happy about it on a practice day. I would rather see an organized athlete donation day on like a Saturday. Athletes have to think about their body and how this could affect it. It would be better for there to be an alternative day, it is just too hard on their bodies,” said Head Football Coach Butch Self.

¨It would not reflect on game day, it would be more of a talk at practice. Doing something like that is detrimental to the team and can be selfish. There are other times that don’t put your teammates in a situation to hurt them. Your choice affects 40 other people, but even in an individual athlete sport like wrestling or track it could affect the team, and it could be a safety concern,” Self said.