launch program to
promote blood drives
State and local groups
launch program to
promote blood drives
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
In an attempt to rally students and adults to give much-needed blood donations, a state coalition kicked off its new Schools Care program at East Brunswick High School, Middlesex County, Sept. 12.
Initiated by the New Jersey School Boards Association to commemorate the victims of Sept. 11 by inspiring people to give blood, the program was launched with a press conference that included officials from numerous governmental and nonprofit agencies. It also included a blood drive in which school staff members donated.
"Schools Care, the program we are launching today, facilitates blood donation efforts. It also provides New Jersey’s public schools with a way not only to commemorate the victims of 9/11, but also to contribute to the community spirit that grew out of that tragedy," said Edwina Lee, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association.
The program will help students organize in-school blood drives or support community blood donation efforts throughout the fall and holiday seasons, she said.
"After the 9/11 attacks, thousands of New Jerseyans rolled up their sleeves, resulting in a massive amount of blood donations," Lee said. "But donated blood has a shelf life of only 40 days. By the time the holidays rolled around, New Jersey’s blood supplies were again at critically low levels. They remain at low levels today."
A new state law makes it easier for students to donate. Gov. James E. McGreevey signed legislation earlier this month that allows students who are 17 years old to donate without parental consent. Pre-viously, 17-year-olds needed consent.
The primary sponsor of the bill to lower the age, state Assemblyman Samuel D. Thompson (R-13), took part in the Sept. 12 event in East Brunswick.
East Brunswick High School has two annual blood drives, one in October and another in May, according to Barbara Godwin, director of recruitment for the Community Blood Council of New Jersey. The fall drive usually collects about 100 pints of blood, while the spring event gets slightly more.
Principal Robert Murphy said the drives usually get between 200 and 300 students donating.
"I’m proud of the contribution that students and staff make to the blood drives," said East Brunswick Board of Education member Patrick Sirr.
"Our students have always shown off the best parts of our community," Mayor William Neary said.
Jennifer McCammon, an English teacher at the high school and the adviser to the National Honor Society, said the next student blood drive will be held on Halloween. She said the district had about 125 students donate in last fall’s drive, and is hoping to get at least 200 this year. The drive will also be also open to faculty.
Vivian Chen, a senior at the high school and a member of the National Honor Society, said the group tries to make the blood drives fun and provides food and drinks to students who donate. Last year, the honor society used a Dracula theme to add a light touch to the event.
Tiffanie Wong, another senior and member of the honor society, said the students are scheduled for different times, and the process takes each student about an hour.
Godwin said the Community Blood Council of New Jersey, based in Trenton, runs the two annual blood drives at the high school.
She said the purpose of the Schools Care program is to increase the number of drives and the number of pints collected.
Donations made by high school students in general represent 8 percent of the state’s blood supply, a larger proportion than contributions from college students and the military.
Once the blood is donated, it goes to the laboratory at the Community Blood Council Center, where it is tested before being shipped to New Jersey hospitals.
Despite being a very dense state in terms of population, New Jersey actually needs to import blood from other states, Godwin said. The reason for that, she said, is that 20 to 30 years ago New Jersey did not have as many facilities for specialized medical care as it does today.
"Patients had to go to hospitals out of the state," Godwin said. "Now, more procedures are done in New Jersey, so more blood is needed."
"New Jersey, home to some of the world’s leading medical centers, transfuses more than half a million units (pints) of blood annually for organ transplants, heart surgeries, cancer treatment, trauma care and other lifesaving efforts," McGreevey said in a prepared statement that was read at the Sept. 12 event. "New Jersey chronically experiences a daily deficit of blood, requiring the importing of one-third of its total blood supply."
"The state of New Jersey continually faces blood shortages," said Rita Polchin, spokeswoman for New Jersey Blood Ser-vices, New Brunswick. "These shortages result in our state importing approximately 70,000 units of blood in order to care for the patients in our hospitals who require these lifesaving transfusions."
Godwin said that, during times of war such as World War II and Vietnam, Americans felt they had good reason to give, as they could see wounded soldiers who needed blood. Nowadays, there needs to be another impetus.
"Now, we’re selling the idea that it’s a good thing to do, an altruistic thing to do," she said.
Many people are so busy today that they do not have time to donate, she said.
"We hope to have a campaign to sell the idea to the public," she said.
Donna Lawder, an account manager with the Community Blood Council, said all the blood collected through Schools Care goes to patients in New Jersey.
Educators and students seeking information on blood drives can visit the school boards association’s Internet Web site at www.njsba.org, which features a Schools Care "how-to" kit for organizing drives in schools or supporting those already planned in the community.