Courtney Withers

Blood! Blood! Blood everywhere! No, this is not a crime scene, this is the biannual blood drive hosted by Papillion LaVista HOSA.

Many PLHS students, faculty, and parents donate and support the event each time it catches the attention of the Papillion community. Along with donations, many students in the organization of HOSA volunteer to help out for the occasion.

There are multiple ways in which the HOSA members help out, all of which are relatively simple.

“We usually go from patient to patient, welcoming them to the process and talking to them throughout their experience. I try to make regular conversation with them such as why they decided to donate, if they’ve ever donated before, are they excited, nervous, ect,” sophomore Allie Plourde said. “We also help them out of their seat directly after donating and guide them to the mat area grabbing them snacks, drinks, and finding them a place to sit.” 

In many ways, talking to the donor is significantly necessary. It’s one of the many ways to calm nervous blood donors.

“One thing we try to do is talk to the person the entire time to keep their mind off the fact that there is a needle in their arm,” sophomore Sophia Bima said. “ I also feel it is helpful to share if you have donated, like i have, and when people ask I always tell them that it was super painless and didn’t really bother me too much after I was done.”

However, there are some horror stories that trickle their way through the seeps of succession.

“I went over to the snack station and sat on the mats to talk to people that had just donated,” Plourde said. “After sitting for a little bit i stood up and watched a guy puke ALL onto the mat where i was previously sitting. It was everywhere! I wasn’t really grossed out by it considering I want to be a nurse in the future. Regardless, it woke me up and made me realize what I’ll actually be dealing with.”

With or without the mishaps, nevertheless, every HOSA member commonly agrees that it’s always an enjoyable experience.

“I really love going to blood drives because it’s interesting to see how different people react to donating blood and I love to meet new people. Sometimes it can be an awkward start when talking to somebody new but it always flows smoothly into a fluent conversation and once you start talking time flies by,” Plourde said. “I really look at blood drives as an opportunity and privilege rather than a burden or something that I’m forced to be doing.”

In the long run, many volunteers used the event to see the importance that just 1 pint of blood can make.

“The most important thing at the end of the day is seeing how much you helped and with the donations we get, how many lives can be saved,” Bima said.

In most cases, blood would be seen as an intimidating subject, however, with the blood drive, shouting “Blood! Blood! Blood everywhere!” would be acceptable.