Angela Nguyen (’17) manages a smile despite the pain as she completes her donation. Photo by Ivy Duong.by Bethany Pham & Tejas Chadha, Staff Writers
On Oct. 18, Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Red Cross club hosted a blood drive done by the University of California, Irvine. They host this event biannually to provide blood for different hospitals and blood banks in the community.
“Red Cross conducts blood drives with the primary purpose of saving lives and aiding in a humanitarian cause,” said Red Cross’s Activities Coordinator Jack Nguyen (‘17). “Each blood donor gives away approximately a pint of blood, [which can save] three people’s lives.”
To host their blood drive at FVHS, Red Cross Club contacts UCI health center’s coordinator to work out a date for UCI’s bloodmobile to come, which is then checked by Assistant Principal of Activities Josh Lamar. Once they have Lamar’s approval, Red Cross publicizes their upcoming event with posters, morning announcements, and shoutouts from Baron Broadcast News. During the day of the blood drive, club members are responsible for excusing students out of class and signing them in for blood donations.
“The most critical step is that we must gather as many blood donors as possible, and then notify the recruiting representative of the blood drive ahead of time,” said Nguyen. “[And for] those who choose to donate will miss most of the class period that he or she signed up for, yet are able to receive government hours in turn.”
Blood donors expressed a wide array of reasons behind their blood donations, ranging anywhere from committing good deeds, to following career paths, to outside influences.
“I donated blood because, although other people say that they don’t want to do it because of the pain, I think it’s worth it because you’ll go through a few minutes of pain, but it’s gonna go towards something good,” said Angela Nguyen (‘17). “I think I [was inspired] because my mom’s a nurse and she deals with this stuff all the time.”
Chloe Jiannino (‘17) said, “I want to be a nurse when I’m older, and I figured since I’ll be doing this on other people that I should experience it, and I want to maybe help save a life.”
“I’m doing this for the government hours!” Myron Chu (‘17) jokingly said.
The American Red Cross Club at FVHS holds these blood drives without any profit; they agree to work with UCI rather than other third party companies who offer incentives in return for blood.
“The UCI blood drives doesn’t benefit our Red Cross club at all, but rather, it unifies us together and strengthens our core ideas of unity and humanity,” Nguyen said. “This event helps bring together people of all race, ethnic and gender and allows them to make positive impacts: to save lives and to change the world.”
That definitely rings true with blood donors who reported feeling happy and that the entire process was quite rewarding, knowing that they were playing important parts in an altruistic mission.
“I felt good knowing that I helped someone, and I’m doing something with my life that can benefit others,” Jiannino said. “It was surprisingly easy; I thought it would hurt more, but it’s actually pretty rewarding. The nurses were super helpful and caring as well.”
Red Cross Club’s blood drives have evidently left lasting impacts on FVHS’s school culture, clear in the way that students over the years have still remained eager to contribute to the cause.
“All of the blood donated goes to the UCI Medical Center, which in turn is used for patient treatment in various medical conditions,” said Nguyen. “The fact that just a pint of blood can save three human lives is beyond imaginable; after all, not all heroes wear capes, and anyone can be a hero, starting here and now.”
