During the midst of the coronavirus, the inevitable cancellation of various athletic, academic, and other school events occurs. Without some of these fundraisers and services, many are suffering without the help of the volunteers and club members. The Red Cross Club can put on their annual blood drive on October 22nd.

“[The Red Cross Club] has been reaching out to the student body via fliers, Eagle Update, daily announcements, and by word of mouth,” said Sam Cruz, secretary of the Red Cross Club.

When someone donates blood to American Red Cross, the blood goes through extensive tests in order to be given to a hospital patient. Hospitals use donated blood for plasma transfusions, platelet transfusions, red blood transfusions, and blood transfusions.

“We are almost at full capacity; we are really happy about that,” Cruz said. “A lot of times our health is taken for granted because a lot of us are fortunate that nothing bad has happened to us health wise. We are so young, really active, and have good health it is the best time to do so.”

With the pandemic, it is crucial that the volunteers are protecting while donating. The club and organizers plan on going through necessary sanitation to make it safe to volunteer.

“We have to keep social distancing, six feet apart,” Cruz said. “All the beds will be sanitized, there will be a limit of three donors per hour, and sanitization will be mandatory after each station.

Covid-19 has made the need for blood more crucial as resources are not as available as they used to be. It is important to have volunteers donate, especially the current uncertainty looming in the air.

“There always is a shortage of blood,” Cruz said. “With an influx of patients in hospitals with Covid, you don’t know how much blood is needed. It is more important to donate now due to the influx of people in the hospitals [suffering with Coronavirus or other general health issues].”

The benefits to donating blood are astronomical. It takes 8-10 minutes to save lives with a person’s blood.

“If you are healthy and able to give good health to somebody else, you should,” Cruz said.