Last Friday, Blood Assurance partnered with members from HOSA to draw blood from Heritage students who volunteered to donate. Blood Assurance’s work is non-profit, meaning that all of the volunteers came forth out of the kindness of their hearts. The blood is used in local hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia for blood transfusions. Blood Assurance hosts about two drives every school year; however, volunteers can donate blood every eight weeks if they wish to. If your really big on giving, that means you could donate up to six times a year!

The next blood drive at Heritage will most likely be during the following school year, around October or November. In order to be eligible to donate, you have to be either eighteen or be sixteen or seventeen with a parental consent form. You must also weigh at least 110 pounds, have high enough iron levels, have normal blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate (all of which they will check for you), and just be in good health overall. Be careful though; certain medications and health conditions like anemia may make you ineligible to give your blood. Other conditions, such as diabetes, should be okay as long as they meet all the other requirements. Blood Assurance has a list of what stops or allows people from donating on their website, so make sure to check when the time gets closer. If or when you do decide to donate, be sure to get plenty of rest, eat iron-rich foods, and stay hydrated. Giving blood is not the easiest thing, but it shows a lot of compassion and is something that helps a lot of people.