Westside High School partnered with the Red Cross to hold a blood drive on Thursday, October 28. Students and staff of the high school were given the opportunity to donate blood throughout the school day. 

Red Cross Collection Specialist Jason Dykes said he thought the event went well.

“We had a really good turnout,” Dykes said. “Everybody was very excited and positive today.”

Dykes said this blood drive, like all blood drives, is extremely important for the Red Cross.

“Blood is needed every two seconds in the United States, whether it’s due to cancer or an accident,” Dykes said. “They need blood. We’re always in need of blood to save someone’s life.”

Once the blood is collected at the drive, Dykes said it gets sent off to testing.

“From here, we pack it and it goes up to Minnesota to [get tested],” Dykes said. “And from there, it is tested and sent where it needs to go.”

Westside freshman Ulyana Romanova was a loader for the blood drive, helping with clean up and transporting blood to the trucks outside.

“It’s organized and everyone seems to be happy with what they’re doing and donating to other people,” Romanova said.

Westside senior Minh Nguyen said he was happy with his decision to donate blood. 

“I felt good about being able to help other people,” Nguyen said. “I would do it again.”