Calling all donors! The Red Cross recently issued an invitation for blood donors. During the winter season, road accidents and illness outbreaks bring a need for transfusions, and the Red Cross currently has a critically low supply of blood.

Sounds like a pretty dire situation right? Luckily, Timpview has a blood drive coming up, put together by HOSA, and taking place Wednesday, February 19th. If you haven’t heard about blood drives or want to know more about them, here’s a quick beginner’s guide on what goes down.

HOSA is teaming up with ARUP Blood Services to make this happen. ARUP is the sole provider to Primary Children’s, the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Shriners Hospitals for Children. Leading up to the blood drive, HOSA will have an information table located in the commons during lunch. Here students will be able to learn more about the drive, and collect a permission form that needs to be signed by a parent or guardian. “Even if you’re eighteen or nineteen in high school you have to have a permission slip,” says Mrs. Abbott. HOSA members, and Mrs. Abbott in room L-24, will also be handing out the permission papers. It’s very important to have this filled out and bring a photo ID with you the day of the drive, otherwise you won’t be able to donate.

There are some other requirements. First, you must be at least sixteen years old to donate. There are also weight requirements, with a minimum weight of 110 pounds. Required weight varies depending on height, and information will be provided when you get your permission slip. If you’ve traveled out of the country recently (specifically the UK, Haiti, and China) you may not be eligible to donate due to a risk of diseases like Malaria and Mad Cow Disease.

“Recent tattoos, piercings, [and] surgeries will exempt you from [donating],” continues Abbott. Aspirin and ibuprofen are also off the list for the blood drive. “[Those] can lead to bleeding,” explains Abbott. “By reducing clotting times, and it could be an allergic reaction.” The closest you can get to the blood drive with either of those medications is twenty-four hours. The more time, the better.

Now for the actual donation. Make sure to eat breakfast and lunch the day of the drive. A real one, not your bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Eating and staying hydrated will keep you healthy enough to donate and prevent you from passing out. Participants will donate a pint of blood. Yes, this means needles! Afterwards the nurses will have you sit down for about ten minutes to make sure everything went well. Here’s the best part: snacks are provided! At the very end, with your extra pockets bulging with chips and cookies, you’ll be given a voucher for ice cream at Baskin Robbins.

Some specific blood types are always more than welcome, like O, the universal donor. “In America, about 46% of the population is A, and 46% is O, and the rest are AB and B,” says Abbott. “So we always need O.” If you don’t know your blood type, no worries, you’ll be told during the drive.

Encourage your friends and family to help out and participate as well. The blood drive is a great way to get involved with Timpview and help out the community at the same time.