Blood Drive

The blood drive is a very important event for our community. There are many blood drives held in Ilion, NY. Some occur at local churches and others at local gymnasiums, but one in particular is very important to the students and staff at CVA. The blood drive held at CVA is led by a staff member of CVA, Shawn Wiles, who has helped set up and organize the blood drive for 10 to 11 years. 

With ten full years of experience in organizing this event, he has been able to answer many questions for us. We interviewed Mr. Wiles on May 16th. One question that was asked is, "What is the importance of the blood drive to you?" 

He responded with, "It's important for the high schoolers to want to be empathetic and want to help people, and also to help understand the shortage of blood and to help the people in need of blood." Mr. Wiles inspires his students to donate blood, and has lots of experience with donating blood as he has donated close to 100 times either at our school or at the Elks Lodge. 

The number of donors each year can come to an average of 60 donors. Some may donate more than once, which would bring in much more blood for the community. The highest amount donated all at once is around 43 pints from over 40 different students and faculty. Mr. Wiles told us that the school aims for around 80 pints of blood a year. The school is aiming to increase the number of blood drives per year back up to 3 so they can get many more donations from those 16 and above, but due to the 55-day waiting period, they are having issues with setting them up. Mr. Wiles has also already set up 2 blood drives for next year. 

We also asked Mr. Wiles why he thinks students are deterred from donating blood. He responded that some may fear needles or just the thought of them, while others may have been prone to passing out during bloodwork in a previous experience. Fainting is a common occurrence when getting blood drawn, usually due to the lack of hydration or from the lack of food consumption beforehand. Some misconceptions about donating blood are that diseases could be transmitted from the needles, but the volunteers do in fact change the needle for each person so that there is no chance of transmitting any diseases. Mr. Wiles also advertises the blood drive through his class of seniors, and he also displays posters around the school while also helping set up the blood drive itself in the large gymnasium.

Another interviewee that we had talked to was Hailey Sipes. She has donated 3 times at the school with half a gallon of blood donated. She also views donating blood in a very positive light. She feels obligated to donate blood as someone who has O negative blood while feeling that people should donate more to help people in need. 

Hailey describes the process of donating blood as scary due to having to be hydrated and eat food beforehand, while also feeling good enough to donate without side effects. They give juice and crackers for you to have before and/or afterward, but Hailey has never had any problems as she had always eaten and drunk before and after getting her blood drawn. Hailey described the process of donating blood as  a little scary, and she feels that the prick of the needle is not painful, but if they are unable to find the vein they may need to adjust the needle, which can be painful. Hailey told us that out of the three times she had donated, she had been treated extremely well. In the third experience, she had an issue with the volunteer doing it on the wrong arm and having to adjust the needle numerous times. 

We believe that donating blood is a very necessary thing for the community as it can help give to others who are in need, especially with some blood types being in high demand, so donating could save many lives. Blood donations are extremely important and the more donations being made will lead to the improvement of someone else’s life. So whether looking for community service hours or looking for an excuse to leave class, or simply being a caring citizen, we highly recommend that students capable of donating take the initiative and donate.