On December 15, Oakdale’s Red Cross Club and the National Honor Society (NHS) hosted the annual blood drive. The blood drive was held during the day in the auxiliary gym. Staff and students who met the criteria, such as being over the age of 16, were able to donate blood by creating an appointment.

The process takes 45 minutes, 8 minutes for drawing a pint of blood, and 15 minutes for recovery, not including all the sanitary procedures needed. Ed Schoder, advisor to the NHS, explained, “The blood that is donated is used to help people having surgeries, accidents, and all sorts of things. A single donation, which takes about 8 minutes on average, can save up to three lives.” Donating blood is a simple and easy way to save many lives.

Oakdale has been hosting their blood drive at the school for quite a while. Schoder ended up taking over the blood drive in 2018 and ran the blood drive at Urbana High School for 6 years. Some of the people that attend the blood drive at OHS have usually donated blood before. Abbey Moore, front office secretary, stated, “This is my third time donating at Oakdale and probably the 10th or 11th time with the Red Cross.”

Besides staff, many students also join the blood drive. Students may choose to donate blood because they want an opportunity to save lives and want to experience what it entails. Schoder expressed, “Personally, I tell them it is the easiest and cheapest thing to save other lives. From the time you walk [into] the gym until the time you’re leaving, it’s about 45 minutes. In about 45 minutes, you can save some lives, and it doesn’t cost you anything.”

The commitment of many students and staff showed the strong community spirit at Oakdale. This year’s blood drive had a good turnout, showing how much students and staff care about helping others. The Red Cross and The National Honor Society are very happy for all who decided to donate blood to help others.

Overall, Oakdale’s blood drive shows how caring our students and staff are by donating 30 pints of blood from the day. Everyone who gave blood not only saved lives but also showed how much Oakdale cares about our community. In the future, if you have a chance to donate blood, you should! It is a very simple and easy way to save a lot of lives.