Students ages 16, with parental consent, and older were welcomed to give blood at the event throughout the school day at the Don R. Daniel Ninth Grade Campus gymnasium. HOSA has sponsored the blood drive annually for about a decade.
Donors, once in the gym, go to an evaluation station. Here their vitals are taken, and they are given a pre-donor screening to ensure the administration of their blood to other individuals is safe and all personal information is up to date.
While Carter phlebotomists draw blood, Aledo Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) students help organize the event. “They have passes that they’re taking to [get students], they help monitor after the donors are finished donating, just to make sure blood pressures are good…and [then they] take [the students] back to class,” said Jenni Meador, CCMA teacher and HOSA sponsor. This teaches the students “communication, confidentiality, safety protocols, and problem-solving. They learn how to coordinate logistics, educate peers about the importance of blood donation, and support donors throughout the process.”
“Having a blood drive every year is important because it allows students to move beyond learning about healthcare in the classroom and actively serve their community in a meaningful way,” said Meador.
The blood donated to Carter BloodCare at the drive provides the tools to care for patients across North, Central, and East Texas– a community helping community impact. At this year’s blood drive 49 pints of blood were collected. “Each one can help up to 3 patients in need of transfusions, so that’s 147 lives touched,” said Carter BloodCare.”
Aledo hosting events like this allows students the opportunity to support the efforts and gives the med-students real-life experience with medical procedure assistance, “and empowers students to recognize that even at a young age, they can make a lasting difference in their community,” said Meador.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here