By Elena Osmanllari
Dragon Echo Staff
Blood trickling out of your veins and into the veins of another.
For some people this might sound creepy but for the others that's exactly what saving lives sounds like.
Knowing the value of life and the fact that they can save people, lots of NHS students volunteered to donate blood on Sept. 19 in the school's old gym.
Mrs. Stephenson, health science teacher at NHS, said, "The blood drive was a cooperative effort between the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and the NHS CNA training program."
Eight students from her class who are part of CNA Training helped organize the drive.
Sixty students volunteered to donate blood. Some were turned away because there wasn’t enough time, but the Blood Center reached their goal and the school reached its goal.
“We have always had lots and lots of students who wanted to donate blood but this year we had the largest number of volunteers,” Ms. Stephenson said. “We do this three times a year, in September, January and another one at the beginning of May.”
Ms. Stephenson said, "People should donate blood because they never know who will need it, or when they might need blood themselves. They are truly saving lives."
Donors must be 16 years old.
"When they are 16 they need their parents’ permission, and when they turn 17 they do not need parent permission,” Ms. Stephenson said.
She teaches Health Science, which means her students will learn about the body and body systems.
“I also teach medical terminology, so they will learn the terms that are used in the medical field and what each term means,” she said.
When students finish Ms. Stephenson’s program and become seniors, they can choose between three different paths: CNA Certification, phlebotomy or medical billing and coding.
NHS also offers a club for students interested in health occupations: HOSA.
Ms. Stephenson praised her students for organizing the blood drive.
“I never felt more proud,” she said.
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