Independence High School (IHS) and Frisco ISD partnered with Carter BloodCare Center and hosted a blood drive. 

Students and staff donated blood as a way to help the community, as donating blood can save lives. 

According to the American Red Cross in the United States, 13.6 units of blood are collected by 6.8 million people who donate blood each year. The demand for blood is constantly growing and a single donation of blood can save up to three lives. 

To donate blood, students or staff have to register online. Students can donate at the age of 16 with parental consent. Students who are 17 or older can donate blood without permission. 

School nurse Lalania Richard said that blood is needed as more than 4 million Americans would die each year if it were not for blood donors.

“There are many people who have unique blood types and can only receive a specific type of blood,” she said. “Donating blood is unquestionably a life-saving act; the whole point of giving blood is to save someone’s life.” 

Richard also said that the whole reason behind donating blood is about saving someone’s life.

“People bleed in accidents and there are some who need blood donations due to childbirth, surgery, and disease,” said Richard. “Donating blood would help all those situations.”

Juniors Sydney Bruner and Leah Clark donated blood at the IHS blood drive. 

“We donated blood to help other people, the community, and to generally do a good deed.”

Donors go through a screening process where they test samples of donor’s blood cells to see whether or not donors are qualified to donate blood.

“In that screening process, they will prick your finger to check your red blood cells to see if they are high enough to give some away and that’s the qualifications,” said Richard.

IHS donors receive free t-shirts after donating blood and seniors who donate their blood twice will receive a red cord for graduation.

IHS and all the other high schools in the FISD district, including the CTE center, host blood donations twice a year. At IHS, the latest blood drive was on Sept. 22, and the next blood drive is in March of 2022. 

To see further information about the blood benefits, and the requirements/process of donating blood go to Carter BloodCare.