It’s not every day that someone is given the chance to save another person’s life. But that is exactly the opportunity that StuCo normally gives students in their annual blood drive. However, due to the unfortunate failure of the Mercy Hospital truck, no blood drive occurred this year.

“By taking it easy for a day, and giving pint of your blood, you can save someone’s life,” Shovik Bandyopadhyay, StuCo Blood Drive chair, said.

The blood drive had been scheduled, April 18. When the Mercy Hospital truck broke down on its way to Eureka, it threw out weeks of planning and preparation.

In the weeks prior to the drive, StuCo members placed posters around the school encouraging people to sign up to give blood. They also went to local businesses like Schnucks and Bread Co. and hung up posters there to encourage community participation.

Don’t worry; the donors’ blood would not have been drawn by a couple of high school biology students. “Obviously, Mercy does the work as far as taking the blood,” Alex Branchfield, another StuCo Blood Drive chair, said. “We provide movies and chairs for them to sit on, and everything like that.”

The movies and chairs would be there because it is important that after giving blood students and teachers rest for a while. After all, they did just lose a pint of blood.

“The shelf life of whole blood is 42 days, for red cells,” Mrs. Donna Vogel, school nurse, said. Such a short shelf life is why frequent blood drives like this one are critical for hospitals.

Unfortunately, it looks like hospitals can count on one less blood drive this year. With End Of Course testing, AP exams, and semester finals all coming up in the next weeks, the blood drive cannot be rescheduled before the school year ends.

Which is a shame because examples of lives that have been saved by donated blood are all around, even here at EHS.

People who experience trauma are not the only kind of patients that benefit from blood drives. Major surgery, anemia, and certain cancers can all lead people to require transfusions of blood according to redcrossblood.com

“There are people like myself who wouldn’t be here if someone hadn’t donated blood,” Mrs. Gail Haynes, leukemia survivor, said. “By giving blood you truly do give the gift of life.