FIRST TIMER … Bryan resident Morgan McClure (left) prepares to give her first blood donation with Cassidy Myers (right) assisting in Thursday’s blood drive at the Bryan Eagles Lodge.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
In order to save lives, give the gift of life. On Thursday, the American Red Cross conducted its monthly blood drive at the Bryan Eagles Lodge.
For Bryan resident Morgan McClure, it marked the first time she has given blood. “I kept seeing the ads for it,” said McClure, who was preparing herself to give blood, “I know that O type of blood is needed.”
She was nervous at first but admitted that she felt it was pretty important to give blood to help others.
The goal was to collect 31 pints of blood in the latest blood drive in Bryan, but as the afternoon went on, several more people came in and donated blood.
“There is always a need for blood,” said Cassidy Myers, who is the special collections coordinator for the Fort Wayne Chapter of the American Red Cross.
“We are currently low on double red cell procedures. We highly encourage O positive, O negative, D negative, and A negative people to come in and donate their red cell procedures so they can get more red cells.”
Myers commented that the blood drives in the summer months are low because high schools are out for the summer. “We’re starting back up our summer school programs that we do,” said Myers.
An important fact about one pint of blood, according to Myers, is that it will save over three people’s lives. “Every time you donate blood, it gets divided up into different components,” said Myers.
“With the whole blood procedure, we receive your plasma and platelets, and that gets transfused into other people.”
Myers stressed the importance of high school students who want to give blood for the first time in their lives.
“We always highly recommend that students in high school donate, because if they start in high school, they’ll end up doing it throughout their whole lifespan,” said Myers. “So, it’s very important for high schools to come out and donate.”
Mohamed Hajr, who is the collection coordinator and driver for the Red Cross, commented that there is room for 44 pints in the vehicle for delivery.
“We’re here to save lives,” said Hajr. “The most important thing is that blood comes from human beings, not from trees. When you donate, you’re going to save somebody’s life.”
As McClure was giving her first blood donation, Gary Burr of Bryan has been donating blood since he was 16 years old.
“This is something that I do whenever I can,” said Burr, who has already surpassed the 20-gallon mark. “This is something our body makes, and if we donate to save somebody else, that’s a good time to do that.”
There will be six more blood drives in Bryan this year.
The Bryan Eagles Lodge will be hosting drives on Wednesday, September 17, Thursday, October 9, Wednesday, November 19, and Thursday, December 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Wesley United Methodist Church, Bryan, will host two blood drives on Thursday, September 18, and Thursday, November 13, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., both days.