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Jonah Resnick

Every two seconds, a hospital patient in the United States needs blood, according to American Red Cross. This translates to more than 41,000 blood donations per day.

Student Council is doing its part to collect blood and save lives by hosting a blood drive 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 17 run by Memorial Blood Center.

Park has a reputation for very successful blood drives, according to Student Council adviser Sarah Lindenberg who expects this year’s first blood drive to be no different.

“St. Louis Park has won some awards for recruiting really successfully and having successful blood drives and increasing the volume of blood that they get each time,” Lindenberg said.

Student Council helps organize and set up the blood drive through the sign-up booth it runs the week before the drive and through the placing of official Memorial Blood Center posters on the walls during the weeks leading up to the drive. It also helps make the blood donation process easier for Memorial Blood Center staff on the day of the blood drive.

“Memorial Blood Center will come in, and it’s all their equipment and their staff and Student Council will help with signing students in and then help at the refreshment table that day,” Lindenberg said.

Sophomore Mia Spano said she is considering donating blood, because it’s an easy way to make a difference and give back.

“I think donating blood is a good thing to do because you don’t need as much as you have and other people might need it more than you,” Spano said.

Senior Anline Lezama believes Student Council is the best group to organize the blood drive because they represent the students.

“We promote it a lot each year and try to get students to join, because it’s really important to us,” Lezama said.

The Dec. 17 date of the blood drive is significant for Memorial Blood Center, because it’s the time of year when donations tend to drop off, so they hope to gain a boost from Park’s blood drive, according to Lindenberg.