Park students and other members of the community donated blood to potentially save many lives as well as give others’ family and friends peace of mind on Dec. 10. There’s always a need for blood and very often there are blood shortages including this summer in July. Therefore, donating blood is a crucial, meaningful contribution to the community.
According to the communications program manager at the Red Cross, Sue Singer Thesenga, one must be aware that there is always a need for blood. She said there’s no maximum age limit to donate if you meet the eligibility, so people can give back for the rest of their lives.
“Recognize that there is a need for blood donation, and this is a great time for people to start donating because it’s a lifelong way that you can give back,” Thesenga said. “There’s no upper age limit, as long as you meet all the eligibility requirements. This is something that people can start when they’re 16-years-old and continue through the rest of their lives to give back in a very nice way.”
Junior Ingrid Kotnik said she’s been donating for a while and it’s a fun experience for her. She said donating is a beautiful thing. She said she likes the community aspect which makes this one of her favorite days of the year.
“I’ve been doing it for a while. Blood drive days are my favorite days of the year,” Kotnik said. “It’s just a really exciting day for me. I like interacting with people that I otherwise wouldn’t meet. I have had people who have come up to me before and thanked me for doing work on the blood drive and talking about people that they knew needed that blood, and they were able to get it, and it was crucial for them.”
Math teacher Kristin Johnson said she has a connection to giving blood due to her familial ties. She said giving blood holds major importance to her and her family.
“I remember when I was a teenager, my mom emphasized the need to donate blood because she talked about both of my grandparents, they were in a serious car accident some years ago, and they needed blood given. My mom was always diligent about giving blood because of the importance,” Johnson said. “She had that lived experience of having her parents needing blood transfusions and having blood given that, that was important to her to give on, and then she passed that on too.”
According to Thesenga, it’s a big challenge to get individuals to donate blood because some are scared to or simply don’t consider it. She said she wants to fill that gap, and one of the ways is to get new donors to give back.
“One of the biggest challenges is encouraging people to donate blood. A lot of people haven’t thought about it, or they might be scared so there’s so many ways to make people more comfortable with it,” Thesenga said. “More than 60% of the US population is eligible to donate, but only 3% do, so that’s a big gap. By educating people on their need for blood, because in the United States, every three seconds someone needs a blood donation, you can see what the need is.”
According to Johnson, giving blood doesn’t really affect her because she’s donated blood before. She said the biggest thing as a teacher is making sure she gets back to class in time to teach. She said the questions before are the longest part of the process and the rest of it is faster.
“I’ve done this enough that I know that it doesn’t really affect me. It’s not my first experience, so it’s not a big deal,” Johnson said. “When I’m done, I just grab my treat and I head back to class. The biggest thing, as a teacher, is just making sure I have enough time, because all [of] the preemptive questions which they need to do for safety, for sure, like all of that takes a significant amount of time before you actually give blood to giving blood, and since I don’t react too much to it, then that’s pretty quick.”
According to Kotnik, giving blood is an amazing thing to do, as youhave the potential to save three lives in one donation. She said not only do you save those lives, but you help families in need.
“Giving blood is a great thing to do if you are able, because of those three lives that it has the potential to save. Think about how it’s not just those three lives, but those people have families, and they have ambition, and they have a lot of the similar things in life that you do,” Kotnik said. “It’s nice to be able to answer the Red Cross calls and give the gift of life. Especially if you’re able, it’s a really important thing, especially since it’s also not taking all your blood, it’s a pint, you might not even notice it’s gone, depending on the person.”
