On October 25 the Leo club and The Miller Keystone Blood Center ran a blood drive from 8-2. Miller-Keystone will have a bus at the far end of the parking lot in front of the High School. Anybody 16 years or older can donate and 16 year olds need a signed permission slip. In order to be eligible to donate blood, donors must be in good health, 16 years or older, weigh at least 110 pounds, and show a photo ID. Before donating blood, people must eat a meal and drink a lot of water. After giving blood, they must drink plenty of water and avoid straining activities. 

     The Miller Keystone Blood Center is a nonprofit organization located in Reading, PA. They have been running this organization since 1971. It is the only blood center serving 29 hospitals in Eastern & Northeastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey. Some hospitals include St. Luke’s University Health Network, Grand View Health, and Reading Health System-Tower Health. They have made a safe blood source that people need.

     Teachers and students can both donate. One of the teachers that donate every year is Mrs Sinopoli and she has been donating blood since she was 16. She typically only donates through the school, but during Covid she donated through other organizations. She is type O negative, a universal donor and a healthy individual so she said “ Why not help others in need.”

     People may be wondering why donating blood is important. Blood donors can help with many things like accidents, burn victims, heart surgery, organ transplants and patients battling cancer. It is a fact that in the U.S every two seconds someone needs blood. Anybody from a 1 year old to a 90 year old might need blood so it is important that different people donate. Blood is also essential for people undergoing surgeries, cancer treatments, and traumatic injuries to survive.