The National Honor Society held its sixth annual blood drive Friday, Feb. 24 in the gym. The drive was facilitated by The Community Blood Center and aided the current emergency blood shortage status.

“We need a lot of O Negative and O Positive blood,” Community Blood Center representative Haylea Keller said. “Hospitals need a certain amount on their shelves, so if they start to have a lower inventory, that is when an emergency blood shortage is put in place.”

Blood from this drive will go to local hospitals to help patients in need of transfusions.

“More than likely, all of the blood collected today will go to Children’s Mercy Hospital or KU Medical Center,” Keller said.

Sixty-three sophomores, juniors and seniors registered to donate blood this year, exceeding the amount requested by the Community Blood Center.  

“We filled up all of the time slots that the organization expected of us, plus a few more,” senior NHS President Ally Koehler said.

Out of the 63 girls that registered for the drive, 40 were able to go through with donating.  Several who showed up were unable to donate due to low Iron levels, fevers or not weighing enough.

“The amount of blood collected today was really good, especially considering young women normally really fight Iron issues and other things,” Community Blood Center nurse Linda Combs said.

Although 40 people were capable of donation, at one or two pints each, even more people will benefit from the blood donated.

“Two people [are helped] per pint,” Combs said.  “If the blood is [Cytomegalovirus] negative, meaning it can go to babies, then [the blood] can help five [babies] per pint.