Park held a blood drive run by the international non-profit, Red Cross Dec. 13. Students took time from their school day to come and donate blood as a way to give back to their community.

Red Cross Regional Communications Manager Sue Thesenga said she stresses the importance of high school students donating blood on a regular basis. 

“It’s really important for high school kids to start donating at this age and hopefully they’ll continue to donate throughout their life,” Thesenga said. “The need is constant.”

Senior Aiden Jones said he feels that it is important to give blood for the sake of helping others. 

“It’s a good idea for more people to give blood,” Jones said. “That way, nobody has to be worried about not having enough blood for a surgery or a transplant.”

Senior Khayria Yusur said that a personal family experience with blood shortages motivates her to donate blood.

“I had a family member that needed blood before and the feeling of them not having the blood that they need really sticks with me,” Khayria said. “If I can help someone that I don’t know, that would make me feel really good.”

According to Thesenga, Minnesota and the midwest overall is one of the most successful regions when it comes to blood drives. 

“In Minnesota, we conduct about 25 to 30 blood drives every single day,” Thesenga said. “Our region actually is one of the highest blood collecting regions in the United States.” 

Yusur said, now that she is old enough, she plans on giving blood whenever she can. 

“I’ve never given blood to anyone but I know people that have given blood,” Yusur said. “I’ve always wanted to and now that I’m old enough to do it by myself, I’ll take any opportunity I can get.”

Thesenga said that even though we are not currently experiencing a blood shortage, they can come around quite suddenly. 

“Right now we are not experiencing a shortage but that could change on a dime,” said Thesenga. “Usually during the winter months, we do get to the point where there’s a shortage.”

To find more information on how to donate blood in the future, visit the Red Cross website.