Southeastern holds second blood drive

With a recent emergency need for blood donations, the timing couldn’t have been better for this month’s American Red Cross blood drive at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School. The drive took place on February 12, with 60 students and staff volunteering to give blood.

“We are grateful for the generosity of the donors. Young people are among the most committed group of blood donors, and they contribute a significant portion of the nation’s blood supply,” said Doreen Greene, a Red Cross representative.

This is the second blood drive that the school has held this school year, and in both cases, it was organized by students majoring in Health Services, guided by their teacher Peggy Laporte. Senior Brianna Leon, of Brockton, was the main organizer, and she is basing her senior project on the importance of blood donations and blood drives.

“I’m glad I did it. It saves people’s lives, and it also helps them in a lot of different ways,” she said.

Brianna worked with a team of two other students, Nachila Ortiz of Brockton and Shyanne Mills of East Bridgewater, to organize the drive, in cooperation with the Red Cross. They spent many hours recruiting the donors, and they were able to get 32 first-time donors to participate. They also learned the importance of preparing them for the process.

“We told them to eat a good breakfast, get a good night’s sleep, drink a lot of fluids, and eat proteins,” Nachila said.

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of blood drives have been cancelled due to winter weather and thousands of donations have gone uncollected. The American Red Cross has been asking more people to donate, in order to prevent a shortage, and the organization is also encouraging schools and organizations to hold blood drives. There is also a critical need for O positive, O negative and B negative blood types.

More information about blood donations and blood drives can be found at the organizations’ website, at www.redcross.org; and individual appointments can be made by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or visiting www.redcrossblood.org.