*Donations from the drive held February 13th are going to the victims of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas*

Throughout this school year, our HOSA club hosted multiple blood drive with the organization One Blood, a group dedicated to receiving blood to give to those in need. The start of the blood drives came from 11th grader and HOSA member Enya Clancy, who proposed the idea at the start of the school year.

Mrs. Berry, the club sponsor, provided some background information on these blood drives, saying that, along with providing blood donations, it is a big fundraiser and collects scholarship money. She noted that for every child that donates, the school gets some money that can be added up for one or two recipients. The goal, however, is not to gain money for scholarships or for the school, rather providing those in need of blood with the proper necessities.

Each drive has an average of about 50 sign-ups, in addition to the number of walk-ons. They are held every 56 days but are currently on hold because of testing. Those who wish to give blood do have to follow the requirements: you must be at least 16, weigh at least 110lbs, and have a signed permission slip. Even if you can’t donate, Mrs. Berry`s advice is to, “Get involved in your community, do your own thing. We’re only as good as our community, right? People help people.”

I sat down with Enya to discuss her idea to start the blood drives, her goals, and where each of the donations are going towards.

Q: Why did you start doing the blood drives at this school?

A: “It`s something I’ve never done before but, my sister was part of the Park Vista one so I was like ‘Oh, maybe our school could do it’, and it actually brings in money to the school, so that helps out, like, our club and medical as a whole. That`s been like…it`s really good for our school to, like, do something like that.”

Q: What do all the donations go towards?

A: “There was the one in October one where it went to the Las Vegas shooting, I remember that, and then it went to Puerto Rico, and then a lot of times it’ll go to hospitals, like, sometimes it`ll go to Bethesda West.”

Q: What is your favorite part about running a blood drive?

A: “Seeing all the people and, like, it’s so interesting seeing, like, who actually donates, like you would never imagine a lot of people, and you never really realize how many people are terrified of needles. It`s also really fun to see people`s reactions on the bus. A lot of people faint sometimes, and I find it funny to see, and it is, ‘cause, I know it is. Also, the phlebotomists (the one who initiates the blood donation) on the buses are so cool. I know last time the phlebotomist, a man who was doing mine, for every girl he did like a little bow on their band, so he made it like really special for all the girls.”

Q: What do you hope to accomplish and what have you already accomplished through these drives?

A: “My goal was to have 100 people sign up, like to accomplish a difference in this school, like we’ve never really had, like it takes you thirty minutes and you can save three people`s lives. It’s so easy to just be like ‘I’ll donate’. It`s the easiest thing.”