Revere High School’s Student Council hosted a blood drive, collecting a total of about forty-five blood donations from students and staff members.

Revere hosts a blood drive four times every school year.  The blood drive took place on March 4.  To donate blood, students and staff members must weigh at least 110 pounds, practice good general health, have a certain amount of iron in their blood and have waited 56 days since last donating blood.  Student Council members made sure everyone signed up on time, delivered passes and handed out water and snacks.

Emily Parish, chairman of the blood drive for Revere, explained why she wanted this position and why she helps out with the drive.

“I could not wait to turn 16 for two reasons: I could get my license, and I was finally allowed to donate blood.  I chose to help out with the blood drive because I feel that being as busy as I am, it gives me a way to help others who need blood transfusions to help them with life threatening diseases.  When my mom was first diagnosed with cancer, she underwent numerous surgeries in which she needed a blood transfusion to help save her when something went wrong in the surgery.  I want other people to be able to have the same chance my family did,” Parish said.

Parish also described the procedure for setting up the blood drive.

“In order to set up and put on a blood drive, first, we need people to sign up, which tends to be the hardest part.  After we get enough people to sign up, the Red Cross does all of the rest.  They come to the school around 6:30 am and set up their beds and physical exam stations.  Then I sit and check people in and have them read a binder full of rules and regulations that they need to pass and follow in order to donate.  After [students] read the binder, they just wait to be called back to the exam station. During the exam, your blood pressure, pulse, iron level, and temperature are checked.  Also, you have to answer a series of questions pertaining to your physical health in the last six months to a year. After passing that, you go back and start drawing blood,” Parish said.

Parish added how she believes the drive affects the community.

“I think the Revere blood drive affects the community by giving the people of Bath and Richfield a sense of pride.  I think that when people donate it makes them feel good, like they have helped someone, especially since the Red Cross allows you to track your blood donation using the Red Cross app.  This allows people to know that their donation did something.  It was not just put in a refrigerator at the hospital, but it actually saved someone’s life,” Parish said.

Student Council vice president Courtney McClellan explained why she helped out with the most recent blood drive.

“I chose to help out with the blood drive because it is an amazing opportunity.  Being Student Council vice president, I have to help plan [and] work the blood drive. . . . it is a good way to help out the community [and] state in collecting blood donations,” McClellan said.

McClellan also recommended how to avoid complications after giving blood.

“Students can make sure to drink a lot of water before and after they donate as well as eat plenty of food well in advance.  After you donate, the nurses give you as much time as needed until you feel ready to stand up on your own.  They also offer juice and snacks before [students and staff] get back to class to rejuvenate,” McClellan said.

Kathleen Shisler, the adviser in charge of the blood drive, explained why blood donations are needed and why Revere hosts the blood drives.

“[Donations are needed] to save lives, such as people in accidents or people in need of blood transfusions. . . . The American Red Cross gets a lot of their blood donations from high school students.  The high school looks forward to the [blood drive] because if we meet our goal with donations, the high school gets scholarship money,” Shisler said.

This blood drive was the fourth and final blood drive of the 2015-16 school year.