By KAYLA COMBS
As the blood began to flow into the
bag from former student, Taylor Dudley, the first blood of the drive was taken. Throughout the school year the Senior Class Council sponsors four blood drives, one per nine weeks.
On Sept 12, 2011, the first drive of the year, a record number of 160 participants attempted to donate blood. A new record of 140 pints of blood was donated at this drive. Last year they collected 84 pints at the first drive.
“It’s great because these kids realize the importance of helping others and saving lives,” Senior Class sponsor Sarah Kittrell said. “[A] diversity of cultures came to donate. It was a great group of kids. [The mass participation] shows a care for school and that they’re looking out for each other.”
For every pint donated, three people are impacted. With the 140 pints of blood that is 420 people’s lives potentially saved.
“I think [more people gave blood] because of the accident last year. [The accident] made them more aware,” senior Brennan Williams. “We can see [what is] happening [to the blood] and not just hear about it.”
The blood collected at the drive will go into the Boone Blood Bank. The blood bank is first accessible to all Boone students, like former students Alisa Pelot and Elizabeth Harrison who were in a car accident last year and received Boone blood. To register for the November drive, see a Senior Class officer or Sarah Kittrell in Room 220