Remember that day when all off a sudden people were being pulled out of class and returning with white shirts, red bandages, and big smiles? Well, in case you weren’t aware, that was the day of our first ever Red Cross Campus Blood Drive! Held on April 23rd, Red Cross and ASB carried out a successful blood drive – collecting 69 pints of blood!

To put the achievements into perspective, the 69 pints of blood could potentially save 207 lives, make possible 8 liver transplants, 35 kidney transplants, or 12 heart transplants, or aid in the treatment of  2 automobile accidents, 15 premature newborns, or 10 bone marrow transplants.

Our brave Mustangs endured a few seconds of pain to help others live a lifetime. In fact, 4 Mustangs even volunteered for the Double Red Cell Donation! To those 4 Mustangs, and to the other 61 Mustangs who donated, thank you, someone was able to wake up to another beautiful sunrise because of your generosity.

Hopefully, American Red Cross will be back next year with another Campus Blood Drive. In the meantime, here are some blood donation tips to keep in mind:

1. Eat a nutritious meal before your donation. Foods such as beans, poultry, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals are highly recommended to maintain a healthy iron level, which is a prerequisite in donating.

2. Drink lots of water prior to your donation, try to finish a bottle of water in the time leading up to your donation.

3. Get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep the night prior to your donation.

4. Bring a form of ID!

5. To avoid any wooziness or discomfort, eat lots of nutritional foods and drink lots of water! (Yes, it’s that important that it must be said again.)

When asked to give advice to someone who has never given blood before, veteran blood donor David Hernaiz (11) advises, “Always remain calm. The worst thing you can do is panic. Try not to look at the process; it’s better to just turn away.”

As someone who has personally donated blood, I cannot emphasize how great of an event it truly is. Even if you’re deathly afraid of needles, a volunteer, a nurse, or a friend will always be there to help you through the process. As David says succinctly, “You should donate because you realize you help save lives with a very simple donation.” Moreover, our wonderful donors were thanked with goodies from Chick-fil-A of Yorba Linda, tickets to the Grammy Museum at LA LIVE!, tickets to a Galaxy game, and donor t-shirts!

Finally, a huge thank you goes to Ms Runge, Mrs. Farrell, Rebecca, Val, and their Red Cross team, the YLHS Red Cross Blood Drive Committee, ASB, Red Cross, all the sponsors, and most of all, the wonderful donors who made the entire event possible!

To stay updated on Yorba Linda Red Cross Blood Drives, visit ylhsredcrossclub.weebly.com.