WOODBURY – While some students may wonder why blood donations are so critical, for many NHS students, the answer is simple. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, many helpless people suffer from cancer and a variety of other diseases and illnesses that are in need of blood donations. This, alongside vital transfusions, make donating blood a dire cause that students at Nonnewaug seem to understand.
With all these needs, Nonnewaug High School is here to help when it comes to addressing these critical needs.
“The National Honor Society runs three blood drives each year,” said Melissa Hodges. “We have partnered with the Red Cross for these blood drives for as long as I have been the National Honor Society advisor.”
Hodges recognizes the difficulty of needing live donations in order to help countless lives.
“Blood is a medical necessity that still cannot be produced by a pharmaceutical company, so we rely on live donations,” Hodges states. “Each donor gives one pint of blood that is split into three separate components, meaning one donation has the potential to save three different lives.”
For frequent donors, the human body provides a seemingly endless supply of this life saving resource.
“Your body will regenerate that one pint of blood in about eight weeks,” Hodges said.
Students believe blood drives are a way to help the people in need of organ transplants or transfusions.
For NHS students, on-campus blood drives aren’t just seen as important, they’re understood to be vital.
“It’s important to donate because people are losing their lives due to loss of blood or because they are in need of blood,” says freshman Noemi Aguilar-Cortes who plans on donating when she is eligible her junior year. “Donating blood can possibly save a life to someone who really needs it.”
Mykal Kuslis, Nonnewaug’s second-year principal, is a relentless advocate when it comes to donating blood.
“I do love to give back,” Kuslis said. “At the end of the day, I just make more blood, so it seems like there is no risk.”
Kuslis has been participating in these kinds of blood drives since he was in high school and even ran them himself.
“I have donated 49 times,” Kuslis said. “I have been in schools for 18 years that have done them, and when I was in high school, I was in the National Honor Society and helped with four of these.”
For Kuslis, NHS’ blood drives are something he takes personally, but also, these events are yet another way Nonnewaug contributes to its community.
“My father had leukemia and needed a lot of blood,” Kuslis said. “I saw how helpful it was to have blood when he needed it. I am also O negative blood, which is the universal donor, so to me, I am happy to help when I can.”
The next blood drive on campus is being held on Wednesday, February 4th from 8:00 to 2:00 in the NHS gymnasium.
