HOSA hosts first campus blood drive

More stories from Tommy Yarrish

Bridgeland’s first Blood Drive kicked off late Monday morning as a result of forgotten equipment, but finished with about 70 donations.

The Health Science department, lead by Mrs. Denise Bishop, teamed up with MD Anderson to host the event. One unit of blood collected saves three lives, and with students, staff, and even community members coming to donate, patients will receive much-needed help.  

“There’s just such a need in the community,” Bishop said on the importance of the event. “And since we try to partner with the community in hosting the blood drive is a good way to put ourselves out there and just help out.”

HOSA members like juniors Paige Adams and Rayane Aboukinane assisted the drive by checking people in, screening them, providing food and water after blood was drawn, and walking them back to class once the procedure ended.

“At Bridgeland we always strive for more than just us,” Aboukinane said. “This is for people who are in desperate need of some help, since blood is rare to find and acquire, this is something that just exceeds expectations.”

MD Anderson nurse Darryl Payne emphasized how people could be a “hero” for a day by donating one unit of blood. When asked to describe the importance of the drive, he kept it short and sweet – “Because they’re giving back to the community.”

For information regarding more donations, head to https://www.mdanderson.org/

Contributing reporters Kaiya Little and Liz Kemsley