Madison Gives Back

On Monday, March 2^nd, students and teachers ages 16 and up donated blood to the American Red Cross. Despite a two-hour school day delay, the Red Cross was able to successfully receive 44 pints of blood. 49 students and teachers arrived ready to give, but due to restrictions in the Red Cross expectations, only 44 pints were accepted. There were two hockey players and two basketball players who were unable to give since they each had games later in the day. Also, there were three others who could not donate because of identified deferral reasons, like no consent form, being underweight, or recent travel, which prevented them from safely giving blood. However, two donors were able to give even more by donating 2RBC which counted as two donations, reaching the 44 pints.

The Blood Drive was stationed in the main gymnasium, where six tables were available every 15 minutes for a new donor. Senior Nikki Taylo said, “Initially I didn’t plan to donate since I had gymnastics after school but after realizing one pint of blood saved three lives, I figured I could sacrifice one practice and decided to donate.” That was the same mindset for many people; donating one pint of blood saves three lives.

The American Red Cross send their donations around the country during times of need. They have provided for the Boston Bombings, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, but they can only give thanks to donations and blood drives. They plan on coming back to Madison High in the fall to get help to save more lives!