A blood drive, coordinated by Leadership, took place on March 17. From 1st-5th period, students who had signed up visited the small gym to have blood drawn by representatives of Blood Centers of the Pacific (BCP).

According to the BCP, a medical need for blood occurs every 2 seconds in America, and 4.5 million people would die blood made available through donations.

While junior Leadership member Rachel Brickman said the drive was uneventful,  junior Henry Rodgers did pass out while having blood drawn.

“At first it was alright; then I began getting nauseous. Then I started seeing stars.” Rodgers passed out and was “out of it” for the rest of the day.

According to Rodgers, he signed up for the blood drive “to get out of class,” and would do it again in spite of his blackout.

Junior Julia Cushing said she donated “for a good cause.” She said it was “fine, didn’t hurt.”

According to Brickman, one must be 16 and pass weight requirements for females to donate blood. The weight requirement is necessary to make sure people are healthy enough to donate blood, and avoid symptoms like fainting.

Brickman added, “every donation saves 3 lives.” 40 people signed up to participate, although only 21 actually provided blood.

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