The Best Drive of All

How many people can say that they’ve actually saved a life? If you’re one of 36 Flucos who gave blood on Oct. 24, you can. 

The first FCHS blood drive of the 2023 school year almost reached maximum capacity, which is 40 individuals. In all, 36 students and staff took time out of the school day to donate a total of 36 pints of blood. In fact, the goal of the school was only 26 pints, so the Red Cross named the FCHS Halloween drive the Red Cross Blood Drive of the week. 

The process of donating takes about an hour between registering and the time it takes to make sure you’re eligible to donate. The time individuals take actually donating blood is about only 7-12 minutes. “We also keep you an extra 15 minutes to observe you and make sure you’re feeling well,” said senior Jay Lyons, who helped coordinate the event. 

The next donation day at the high school will be Dec. 18. If you are donating, make sure you hydrate, eat a good meal beforehand (preferably something with iron), and get a good amount of sleep the night prior. The more of these things you do the better you will feel after donating. Eating a meal full of iron and hydrating more than normal helps your body prepare and makes it less likely you will feel lightheaded or faint afterwards.

Donating blood is completely free, and truly saves lives. In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, and donating one pint of blood saves three lives.  “I think people will feel good knowing they helped save three lives with their one donation,” said Lyons.  senior Gracie Clifton, who donated at the October drive, agrees that donating blood provides others with a “gift of life.” “I feel accomplished knowing I have helped make a difference in the world by helping with this blood drive,” she said.

What are the requirements for donating blood? Here are the Red Cross donation guidelines:

• Donation frequency: You can donate every 56 days, up to 6 times a year
• You must be in good health and feeling well
• You must be at least 16 years old in most states
• You must weigh at least 110 lbs
• Be at least 17-years-old (16-years-old with parental consent)

Even students who don’t like needles may be glad they donated. In fact, 50% of the student donors in October had never donated before. “I feel happy knowing that I overcame my fear of needles to help save a life,” said senior DeDe Dillon.

If you are interested in donating to the Blood Drive, you can sign up to donate by going to Donate Blood, Platelets or Plasma. Give Life | Red Cross Blood and enter the zip code “22963.” This will allow you to see all the drives that are planned at Fluvanna County High School.