The student council is hosting a blood drive with Carter BloodCare on Thursday, Jan. 30 in the West Side Gym of the senior high school.
The process can make new donors nervous, so junior and KDGN staff member Max Parilli decided to document his donation.
“Many students are ready to donate, but just as many might not be so sure about signing up,” Parilli said. “What better way to encourage them than by donating myself?”
Carter BloodCare is unique as most of the blood donated stays in Texas and given to local communities.
“You’ll get a text message that will say exactly what city your donation helped,” Ashley Claster, Media Relations Specialist for Carter BloodCare, said. “It’ll say your blood donation just helped a patient in Arlington, for example.So, I think it satisfies a sense of community among the state and brings some state pride and at the same time.”
Claster said that it’s important to be proactive with blood donations in order to ensure banks are always stocked.
“You’re saving lives and it’s not just people who are chronically transfused,” Claster said. “It can be people who were in a car crash, it could be somebody you know, it could be a terrible disaster that we don’t even know about right now.”
On campus, donors are preparing for Thursday’s drive.
“I’m nervous, because I donated last time and it was kind of scary,” junior Hiam Koujan said. “But, I know a lot of people that have talked about how they’ve received blood donations and how life changing that’s been for them so I know it can go a long way.”
Sign up to donate at the blood drive here or at Carter here.
