The State High Key Club held a blood drive at the North Auxiliary Gym on Apr. 17 from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. All blood donations went to the American Red Cross, which has been in immediate need of blood donations. The blood drive was State High’s way of helping out in lifesaving medical care.

Students who wanted to donate blood had to reach the correct qualifications and must be at least 17 years old or 16 with parental consent. That being said, the main goal in mind was to get as many donors as possible.

Leading up to the event at State High, there was a table set up at the HUB for important information about the blood drive and in-person registration. There was also an online form to sign up for donating. For those of who signed up, Key Club encouraged all donors to eat a good breakfast, lunch, and hydrate in order to have an optimal experience.

Ella Lott, a junior at State High, shared her rationale for donating.

“I think it is crucial for those of us who are healthy and able to help out those who aren’t. Blood is something that can be used to save lives, so, by donating my blood I am sure that someone out there will have a supply of blood if they needed it,” Lott said, “I would indeed do it again because I am a firm believer that giving blood is an important thing to do as a person in my community. It also is super easy and doesn’t hurt.”

In total, State High contributed to 56 units of blood. There were also five students who completed “Power Red Donations,” which were open to male donors, age 17 and above. This type of donation requires a special machine that collects two units of blood, doubling the typical blood donation, while returning plasma and platelets back into the donor’s body.

Isabella Caceres, the president of Key Club, was extremely impressed by the outcome of the blood drive.

“At the end of the day, we had a ton of people just trying to walk-in and give blood, which is absolutely wonderful. We had so much interest and so much support from the students and teachers,” she said, “I was very proud of State High students for being able to step up and be a part of this themselves.”

Caceres also gave a huge shout-out to her Key Club team. “They are a group of dedicated and kind individuals, and I am very grateful that we were able to work together and bring this opportunity to State High Key Club and to the State High community as well,” Caceres said.

Overall, the State High Key Club had a fantastic outcome of their blood drive this year. They are looking forward to seeing even more growth in the future and hope to plan two blood drives in the upcoming school year.