On Thursday, October 23, Loretto’s National Honor Society partnered with Vitalant to sponsor a blood drive with participating members from all over El Paso.
It took place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with stations for snacks and t-shirts provided by NHS workers and volunteers from Vitalant.
Through these donations, the community works together to ensure that the drive exceeds its goals and reaches this extraordinary achievement.
Primary goal of the drive
The goal was 122 donors for 142 units; however, 133 donors were able to participate, exceeding the expected amount and reaching 160 units of blood.
This is expected to save around 480 lives.
The Student Activities Coordinator, Ms. Helen Martinez, said, “The Loretto Blood Drive continues to be one of the most successful in the city, and the top school donation center.”
Unexpected challenges
Although it was noted that there was a significantly smaller number of NHS members to help organize the drive, they were able to accomplish their goal and more.
Members of the National Honor Society faced many challenges, for example, donors not answering their phones, scheduling the appropriate time slots, and trying not to overcrowd the buses.
Despite these difficulties, they were able to keep the drive well organized and were able to plan to overcome these obstacles.
Senior Goly Enriquez, NHS vice president, said, “Overall, honestly, I don’t think we felt stressed enough, probably because of our support system; it’s really helped a lot, especially with the teachers and coaches who were flexible with us.”
“That’s really helped us a lot to keep everything on track.”
Where does the blood go?
Once the blood is collected and labeled, it is processed for shipment to hospitals to aid patients.
The Hospital Services, a department of Vitalant, delivers the components of blood to patients who are in most need of it, locally and nationally.
According to Vitalant, the nonprofit organization supplies blood and blood products to over 900 hospitals in 28 states.
This year’s blood drive was a successful showcase of hard work and dedication, and how the Loretto community was able to come together and plan this blood drive to save countless lives.
