Giving blood is one of the easiest things an individual can do to save three lives. It
only takes about 15 minutes and when you are done three lives will be saved. Currently the
state of Oregon is in a huge need for blood, which is why Putnam organizes three blood
drives a year, but once you donate blood at Putnam, the American Red Cross will keep you
updated on other donation opportunities in your area. If you have blood type O-, B- and A-,
they will urge you even more since negative blood types are known as the power red blood
types because it is the most common blood type and the universal blood type needed for
emergency transfusions and for immune deficient infants.
There is no way to synthetically reproduce blood, meaning that hospitals rely 100%
on donations for surgeries, blood transfusions, and so much more. After the Red Cross takes
the blood, they will test it for any illnesses or other reasons why it may not be possible to
use. Then hospitals will store the blood and use it, when needed. In some cases, one can
even opt to have your blood used for research, while is another very helpful thing you can
do. If you already donated, why not just let it be used for research to further help lives? The
actual blood donating process is fairly easy. You sign up and show up to your appointment
and the volunteers will sign you in and get you ready to donate. After having your globulin
levels checked and answering a few quick questions you are good to go and ready to save
three lives. Each donating session takes one pint of blood.
Another benefit of donating blood is earning a chord at graduation. By donating three
times in your high school career, you will earn an extra chord at graduation. Putnam
organizes three blood drives per school year, for the 2023-2024 school year there was a
blood drive in November, February and there is one planned for April 26 th . Sign-up sheets are
out, so go sign up and save three lives!
Student body president Soren Shrout is one of the people in charge of organizing the
blood drives and explained how to properly prepare to donate. “Always make sure you eat
breakfast and to have a good lunch, if you are donating later in the day. A good breakfast or
lunch means eating iron rich and healthy foods and drinking a ton of water. The more water
you drink, the faster the donation goes.” Leadership student, Olivia Phillis mentioned a few
reasons why a person might not be able to donate. “If you have an iron deficiency, typical a
medical condition that’s contagious to your blood, if you recently got a tattoo, just got a new
piercing, if you are underweight for your height percentile or if you are under the age of 16.”
Even if you cannot donate blood, consider volunteering at the blood drive, not only because
it is for a good cause, but since it also counts as volunteer hours for NHS or CAS.
Remember, you can save three lives for 15 minute of donating blood, and you get a
cookie, juice box, and shirt afterwards!