AHS Blood Drive may save 84 lives

First time donor Ms. Peterson donated blood to save lives during a recent on campus Blood Drive.

Photo contributed.

Atascadero High School’s Health Room nurse Jody Batten organized a blood drive on the Atascadero High School campus on Apr. 10. According to Ms. Batten, because of all of the donors, the blood bank received enough blood, 28 units, to save 84 lives!

The appointments filled up fast, and there were several students on the back up list who were able to fill some empty spots at the last minute due to scheduled donors being unable to attend or having low iron counts or having traveled to Malaria-prone countries. Overall, the response was outstanding. Fifty students and staff participated. Students must be 18 years old to donate.

They checked in 31 donors for whole blood. Two donors gave a double donation of four units each, and one donor did an R1, which is a red blood and plasma donation. The Vitalant company operated the blood drive bus, formerly known as United Blood Services.

Ms. Batten commented, “This was my first year coordinating a blood drive, and I am so happy that my donors made my first time such a success!” She added, “I had a few first-time donors, so kudos to them, and for making our school the first place they ever donated.”

This will not be the only time in 2-019 that AHS staff and students will be able to donate blood. Ms. Batten said that she plans to coordinate two blood drives for the coming school year, one in the fall and the other in the spring.