East’s student council is hosting their Spring Blood Drive this Friday, Mar. 24, where they hope to collect 65 units of blood to send to local hospitals.

Student Council hosts two blood drives a year, the Spring and Fall Blood Drive, organized by sponsor Stephanie Scapino. With these events being held during the school, this increases accessibility and with around 150 students a year donating, there’s around 80 units donated each drive, exceeding the goal of 65.

“We are thankful that our admin team allows us to do this during school, since our students are so busy outside of the school day,” Scapino said. “Our students are able to get community service hours for this activity and are able to support the health needs of people in the community.”

Despite its accessibility, students must meet age, height, and weight requirements to donate blood. Individuals must be at least 16 years old to donate blood, but parent/guardian consent is required. For those 17 and older, parent/guardian consent is not required. Due to blood volume requirements, certain weight requirements must be met depending on height, that can be found on the American Red Cross site.

Student Council Community Service Chair, Brooklynne Martynus, believes that these blood drives are beneficial in aiding those in need, especially considering the current blood shortage.

“In recent years it has become incredibly important to donate blood because there has been a national blood shortage in hospitals due to the pandemic,” Martynus said. “Holding these blood drives allows students and staff to have an easy opportunity to help out.”

Student Council member, Andrew Medrano, also believes these events are important to give back to those in need and promote unity amongst the community.

“The Blood Drive is important for both our high school community and our local community. Here at OE, the Blood Drive promotes generosity and emphasizes the power that all students have to make a difference and help others,” Medrano said. “Even just a 15-minute donation session can go a long way.”

Sophomore Isabelle Gershon, is looking forward to being a participant in the blood drive and focuses on the benefits it has for the community. 

“What motivates me is knowing there are people out there who would greatly benefit from my donation,” Gershon said. “If I was ever in a situation where I needed a blood donation, I would hope there’s adequate resources for me to receive that as well.”

Students interested in participating can pickup consent forms during their lunch periods and will be assigned times to donate upon completion.

Aryanna Griffin is a staff writer for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl