On February 4 of last week, Key Club hosted a blood drive. Students had to be 16 and have parental consent.

Blood drives are held so that emergency rooms are able to give patients extra blood so that they can live. According to a website called “World Health Organization,” blood transfusions are needed for, “Women with complications of pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies and haemorrhage before, during or after childbirth; children with severe anaemia often resulting from malaria or malnutrition; people with severe trauma following man-made and natural disasters; and many complex medical and surgical procedures and cancer patients. It is also needed for regular transfusions for people with conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease and is used to make products such as clotting factors for people with hemophilia.”

Giving your blood to these blood drives help save lives, and 44 students gave their blood last week, donating 44 pints total, each individual giving one pint.

According to Mrs. Blair, a teacher at Chelsea High School, who helped organize this event, “‘There were a lot more who wanted to give blood, but they were [unable to because] either not eligible, or we just ran out of time.’”

I’m sure that all that blood will go somewhere useful, whether it will be used for women who are having trouble in childbirth, people who have lost a lot of blood because of near-fatal wounds, or even just in the operating room.

So next time you see a blood drive truck, think twice before you pass it by. If you are above the age limit, why not give blood? After all, you never know whose life could be saved because you decided to stop and give a pint of blood.