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The Morgan PawPrint

The Student News Site of The Morgan School

The Morgan PawPrint

The Student News Site of The Morgan School

The Morgan PawPrint

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    Morgan Saves Lives

    Morgan+Saves+Lives

    Written By Chelsea Pacheco
    Photos By Chelsea Pacheco and National Honor Society Members

    Every year the National Honor Society of The Morgan School holds a blood drive for the staff and students. In order to participate, a student or staff member must attend or work in the school and  be 17 years of age or older.

    Blood DriveOn the day of the blood drive, the gym has students and teachers in the gym constantly. There is fun music playing to create a better atmosphere for donating.

    These are critical steps blood donors must follow before actually donating blood:

    • Sign in
    •  Take a red sticker if you have not donated blood before; take a green sticker if you have donated blood before.
    • read the handbook to see if you are 100% qualified to donate your blood
    • At the question station, answer the nurse’s questions and then get your iron checked to see if you are able to donate bloodIMG_3557
    • Once all of those tasks are complete, then it is time to donate!

    While donating, the student or teacher is required to keep moving the hand and fingers so the blood flows faster. A normal time for a person to donate a pint of blood is 5-10 minutes roughly. If a donor is still donating after 22 minutes, the nurse will take the needle out because losing blood for that long is dangerous.

    Also, when students are donating, Ms. White is very comforting. She helps them calm down and relax. While I, Chelsea Pacheco, was donating blood, I admit that I was a little nervous. Throughout the whole process, Ms. White was by my side, holding my hand, comforting me, talking to me to get my mind focused on a different topic. She made the whole donating process much easier for me and many students, which we are very thankful for. Thank you Ms. White!

    Blood DriveAfter donating, donors are required to raise their arm so the blood flow can go back to normal. Then, they can stay and lay on the bed to relax or slowly sit up to avoid getting dizzy. Sometimes after donating, people will feel dizzy which is why the gym is filled with sugary treats! After donating a pint of blood, a bunch of sugar is lost. Drinking cranberry juice is very helpful. The sugar needs to get back into the donor’s system to help him or her feel better. In the gym, there are donuts to eat, a bunch of bagels from Cohens, and a big bowl of candy to much on. Yes, I know this sounds very unhealthy, but the body needs to get the sugar back in order for the person to feel better again and in order for the body to recover faster.

    Once the students are completely done donating, they are more than welcome to go over and eat a few snacks. After standing up for the first time after donating, an adviser helps them walk to the snack table and the blue mats to sit on and relax. The students are allowed to stay for two hours to make sure they are able to continue throughout the day. Once the students are okay, they are free to go back to class. “I love donating blood” Senior Paige Koziy said, “I love the feeling that I am saving someone’s life. It is such a great cause, and I am very happy that Morgan holds its own blood drive.”

    This last blood drive the goal was to have 35 students and teachers combined donate blood. 50 students/teachers donated this year, but only 30 counted. What that means is that some people had to get the needle taken out of them before the bag was full because they either were getting very pale or the student thought the needle hurt and had it taken out. Some students did not have high enough iron to donate. This means that The Morgan School donated 30 pints of blood this past blood drive: amazing!

    If you want to take part in the next blood drive at The Morgan School, the next drive will be in May.  You must be 17 years or older and a student or teacher/worker to participate.

    Blood Drive

     

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