Local high school students got pricked for a bloody good cause, this week.
Grade 12 students at Canmore Collegiate High School were given the option to donate their blood after they gave a sample to Canadian Blood Services (CBS) on Tuesday (Nov. 15).
With the assistance CBS, CCHS student council members promoted the effectiveness of having students donate blood for a worthy goal.
In its third year of operations at CCHS, students got a prick on the finger from a nurse and a small blood sample was taken. The students could then sign up to donate blood at a later date should they meet the physical qualifications.
Every person’s body contains about five litres of blood and a typical unit of blood collected is about 450 millilitres.
According to the national organization, there is a need for about 100,000 new donors annually to meet the growing demand.
Once donated, the blood units would be used throughout the province within a few days.
“We’re getting the younger generations involved in doing well in our community,” said student councillor Brooke Anderson.
“We’re trying to hook people on donating for life and getting them in at the youngest age possible, and hopefully for the rest of their life.”
For some of the high school students, donating is not only important, but it’s in the bloodline.
“A lot of my family members have needed blood in the past,” said student councillor Kyla Morrow. “It’s kind of important to give blood and give as much blood as they can because just for a single car crash victim, they can need up to 50 units of blood.”
The students also had the option to take part in a stem cell donation process by having their cheek swabbed. The DNA sample will be banked and the student’s information will be taken down for potential future cases.
