VACAVILLE HIGH STUDENTS HOST LOCAL BLOOD DRIVE
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the past year has reinforced the need for giving. At Vacaville High School Thursday, this meant giving blood.
Vaca High’s Student Council partnered with Vitalant, a blood donation nonprofit, for its second of three community blood drives a year. Vaca High and Vitalant’s Fairfield center have partnered for events for more than a decade, dating back to when the latter agency was known locally as BloodSource.
Analise Moore, a senior who helped organize the blood drive, said the events had previously been open solely to students and ran all day. However, because of COVID-19 and students being in distance learning until 1:30 p.m., she said the first two hours are scheduled for parents, guardians, staff and members of the community, while the remainder is largely for students.
“We try to schedule as many students as we can,” she said.
Additionally, Moore said the pandemic delayed the first drive of the year by three months, but the first one was successfully held in December. The last one will be in May.
“We usually spread them out just so that if a person was a donor the first month, they can donate all of them,” she said. “There has to be a certain amount of time between when you donate.”
The blood drives are advertised online to all Vaca High students, and Moore records applicants’ information and schedules times for them to come in. Donors fill out questionnaires and 16-year-old students fill out parental consent forms, while those 17 and older just need to show a photo ID.
Steve Pignataro, a donor recruitment representative for Vitalant, said the past year has been challenging for the organization, particularly in finding locations or donors. He also said a lot of people make appointments and do not show up.
“Sometimes, the reasoning for that is people are being more cognitive,” he said. “If you wake up with a little bit of a sore throat, you’re not really pushing to the day anymore. You’re staying home trying to protect others, so we’re definitely seeing a lot more no-shows due to that, which is understandable.”
The blood drive adhered to social distancing protocols. Moore took people’s temperatures upon arrival and asked them if they had any symptoms, been near people who did or were awaiting test results. The chairs and tables were also spaced farther apart and wiped down between donors.
The snacks and water bottles that are typically provided by request to people after they donate were not laid out on a table, but people were given a picture of the snacks and beverages and pointed to whatever they wanted the volunteers to bring to them.
Leah Purnell, Vaca High’s discipline and independent study secretary, was among the faculty members to give blood. She tries to donate every time a blood drive is held because she believes it is an important thing to do.
“There’s a need for it, especially during COVID,” she said. “There’s car accidents, surgery … you never know when you might need it. If you can donate, you should.”
Moore said she is glad the drives are held on campus because they allow students to learn more about the impacts of donating early on.
“Just the fact that we’re in a (blood) shortage and people are willing to come out and help is really great,” she said.
Pignataro said he likes working with high schoolers because he sees them as the donors of the future.
“I donated twice in high school, and then when I saw it at the college I went and donated because I was familiar with it,” he said.
Pignataro said the blood donations will be beneficial to future patients.
“If you were in the hospital and you need blood, you are not in a good place,” he said. “The one hour that you take out of your day to help somebody else, I hope that’s something that they can take away and know that they’ve done something positive.”
Additionally, Pignatro said all successful donations would be tested for COVID antibodies to see if donors had COVID in the past. These tests will continue through at least the summer.
“We have a lot of people come out and say, ‘I was sick back in January (2020). I bet that’s what that was,’” he said.
With the antibody tests, donors will be sent results to determine if that is indeed what that was.
Overall, Pignataro hopes students will learn more about the process.
“Blood’s not just always going to be there for somebody,” he said. “It’s volunteer donors that are helping out those that are in the hospitals.”