The annual Blood Drive took place this past Friday 12th in the North Gym and many students from our school signed up to get out of a class of their choosing and join the nurses to donate their blood for a good cause.

The blood drive is popular amongst those students who are 16 or older, as they get to miss a class without penalty. However, it can also be difficult to find a time in your schedule that would not backfire on you. Junior Brianna Altman’s decision was pretty easy.

“I missed out on P.E,” Altman said. “If I got my blood drawn before I wouldn’t be able to lift weights anyway, so I got it out of the way.”

After you’re done giving blood it’s of course back to business as usual. However, Altman was just happy to have participated in something that she can now do without a parental signature.

“My mom’s a nurse,” Altman said. “So I know firsthand we are at a lack of good blood.”

Her mom however is not the only connection she has to blood donation, like a lot of people Altman has a family member that could have donated blood. Which made the blood drive just as imperative to the cause as any other donation center in town.

“My nana had really bad heart issues,” Altman said. “So I thought it was something simple I could do to help.”

Of course, she is not the only one who showed up to help. With the age range starting at 16, it covers half of the school, all coming together to give a part of themselves for a great cause.

“It is nice that you only have to be 16 before you can donate, especially since you are old enough to make your own decisions,” Altman said. “There were a lot of people that showed up.”

Even though there were plenty of people willing to donate, that’s not to say some people had fears that prevented them from donating which is a valid reason, even Altman had her nerves as she was being sat to draw blood.

“I wasn’t too nervous to begin with,” Altman said. “But seeing the needle was scary because I was not expecting it to be that big.”

That is not something that should hinder someone from giving blood though. Even if you are nervous the nurses that are there to draw your blood will ensure that you are feeling as comfortable as possible.

“They were very focused but they were also very nice,” Altman said. “I got Joe who was very funny, and got to talk with a lot of the other nurses there.”

Regardless of any fear that you have, it is heavily encouraged that as many people as possible participate in next year’s Blood Drive. That way our students can continue helping people just as they have done for years in the past.