Mt. Creek to honor area high school blood donors

Vernon - As the school year draws to a close, students throughout the area are hosting blood drives under the auspices of Community Blood Services. Students, faculty and community members are welcome to participate. Mountain Creek will host an event on June 3 to honor area high school students who have hosted blood drives, and Community Blood Services will recognize the three schools that achieved the year’s highest donor registration rate at an awards ceremony on June 6. The remaining “High School Blood Challenge” event in Sussex County will take place at Vernon High School on May 24. Teens are fast becoming one of the largest groups of blood donors in New Jersey and across the U.S. Without them the blood supply would be in danger, notes Suzanne Mannion, a Community Blood Services spokesperson. Ten percent of blood collected by the agency now comes from high school students. Students account for 40 percent of Community Blood Services’ new donors, a “critical component” of the blood supply. Community Blood Services launched the “High School Blood Challenge” in 2001 to encourage students in northern New Jersey and southern New York State to learn about the need for donations and to organize blood drives in their communities. In five years, the number of “High School Blood Challenge” blood drives has increased by 106 percent, with the number of registered donors increasing by 132 percent. During the 2004-2005 school year, 59 schools ran 72 blood drives. “Students are inspired by their ability to help three individuals through the donation of one unit of blood,” said Mannion. “An initial blood donation experience is the primary factor in determining if a person will regularly donate blood throughout his/her lifetime.” The aging population has a two fold impact on blood donations, Mannion explained. “First, the longer you live, the more likely you’ll need a blood transfusion.” Second, she noted, the age limit for donations is 75, “making participation by ‘Gen Y’ essential to maintaining the blood supply.” While the number of high school blood donors is on the rise, blood centers experience a drop in donations among young people once they head to college, said Mannion. “The goal of the ‘High School Blood Challenge’ is to present students with a positive experience that they can carry with them and recreate, no matter where life takes them.”