Like anyone facing something new, sophomore Koralie Edwards felt a smidge of apprehension before she donated blood during Wednesday’s SADD blood drive.
“I am a little anxious, but I think it is because I have never done it before and never even watched it being done.”
Edwards wanted to contribute blood since the fall of 2023, when she first learned about the SADD program blood drive, but she wasn’t old enough to donate yet. Civic minded, she assists at Le Center Sportsmen Club events, Cleveland Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) activities and looks for other ways she can volunteer.
“I love helping people. I find joy in it, and I have heard stories about how donated blood has changed the lives of so many.”
But this spring, having turned 16, and with her parents’ consent, the Red Cross gave her the green light.
So, she signed up to donate. She went through the preliminary health screening on Wednesday morning before reclining on one of the gurneys spread out in the new gym. There, Red Cross workers poked her arm and, while she twirled a red stress ball in her fingers, used to help blood flow, they collected a pint of her blood.
The process lasted about 10 minutes.
“It went very well,” Edwards said. “After it started, I realized it wasn’t so bad after all. It’s just a little pinch, and that’s all you feel.”
Like the other 47 donors who participated in the SADD blood drive, including students, faculty and members of the community, Edward’s gift of blood will head up to the Red Cross’s storage facility in St. Paul while samples in test tubes get sent to one of two out-of-state laboratories. There, the samples undergo a dozen tests, some that ensure the blood is safe to distribute while others look for traits that make the blood desirable for specific recipients.
From St. Paul, the blood gets distributed to hospitals.
Platelets, which help with blood clotting and are given to patients with clotting problems, cancer or undergoing major surgery, are only good for five days and must be kept agitated. Plasma, which contains proteins and antibodies and can be used to treat bleeding disorders and make life-saving medications, can be frozen and stored for up to a year. Red blood cells, which carry oxygen and are used for transfusions in situations like trauma, anemia and surgery, will last up to 42 days when stored in refrigerators.
“There is always a bigger need for blood than what we are able to supply,” said the Red Cross’s Mikayla Demaris, the drive lead. “We’re not at the lowest shortage, but there is a need.”
High school math teacher and SADD advisor Dave Roberts, who coordinated the drive, said the goal was to collect 42 pints, so the drive surpassed expectations. With 39 pints in the fall drive, the SADD drives this year earned the school a $1000 scholarship, which will be awarded to a senior who helped at the drives and determined along with other scholarships in May.
To anyone who is skittish about donating blood, Edwards recommends they watch the process and do some research on it. As for her, she will sign up again when SADD holds its next blood drive in the fall.
Above: Koralie Edwards with Red Cross drive lead Mikayla Demaris.
