Students ages 16 and older rushed to the gym on Wed., June 6 throughout the school day to do their part in the race to save humanity by donating pints of blood to The American Red Cross. ASB encouraged students to save lives by providing t-shirts and refreshments to donors.

Although the wait in line may have been a bit time consuming, students felt a sense of accomplishment by giving a part of themselves to help a person in need.

“I’ve never donated blood but I really wanted to because I think it’s for a very good cause,” junior Karina Lizarraga said.

Other students feel personally committed to the cause because of family tragedies or accidents. Giving bood is a way to prevent accidents from getting any worse than they already are. It keeps loved ones safe in the event of a serious injury or disease.

“My family started donating blood more frequently after my cousin was diagnosed with Leukimia,” junior Chris Vasquez said. “Now I like to donate as much blood as possible.”

Along with regular blood donations the ALYX donations were also available for students who wished to give a more. The ALYX machine collects the highest amount of red blood cells and requires donors to be a certain weight to give blood.  Many students could not donate due to weight limits, low iron levels, and anemia. The upcoming Six Flags field trip held for the Physics classes also limited students from donating due to safety precautions.

“It’s too bad many of the people I know could not donate,” junior Alejandra Roque said. “They were really excited to donate.”

Although ASB may not have received as many donors as expected the blood drive was still a success. The fact that students took the initiative to take time out of their schedules to donate blood is an achievement on its own. Surely, there will be many more students who are willing to donate at future blood drives.