Mission Bay Needs You! Give Blood.

Photo Credit: The Beachcomber

Mission Bay Needs You! Give Blood.

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January 13, 2012 • Megan Allison, Staff Reporter  
Filed under News, Top Stories

Mission Bay High School is hosting their second Blood Drive of the school year, on February 3rd. The first Blood Drive on November 4th, 2011 was a complete success. Approximately 45 people donated, which means about 90 lives were saved.

    According to the American Red Cross: every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood, more than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day, approximately 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the United States, the blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O, Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the U.S. and Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives. More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and a single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.
Jacob, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2001, has had more than 100 pints of blood transfused during the course of his treatment. He was diagnosed at Rady Children’s Hospital, when he was only 17 years old. ALL is a rapid-growing cancer that affects the white blood cells. In this cancer, the bone marrow makes many unformed cells that are abnormal, which makes it harder for the body to fight infection. Jacob had to go through two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy treatment, and after relapsing, had to get a bone marrow transplant in 2005. During the chemotherapy, the blood counts are lowered. Jacob had to start getting about one blood transfusion a month. Each transfusion contained about three pints of blood, which meant he needed blood from three different people. Since 2005, Jacob has been in remission. For the people with a fear of needles, Jacob said, “Throughout the course of the treatment, I’ve been stabbed maybe 1,000 times. The pain that lasts for a few seconds cannot compare to the life that can be saved.” Jacob graduated high school, and graduated from UCSD in 2009. He is now preparing to go into Medical School.

Mrs. Lewis, a popular Freshman English teacher, had an experience with a blood transfusion as well. Her daughter, Olivia, was born as a Micro Preemie. A Micro Preemie is a baby that is born before 26 weeks of pregnancy. Olivia was two pounds when she was born. Mrs. Lewis had to undergo an emergency C-Section to save her and Olivia’s life. Due to the complications of the pregnancy, Mrs. Lewis and Olivia had a low hemoglobin count. Hemoglobin carries the oxygen from the lungs to the organs. Olivia and Mrs. Lewis were both recommended to have a blood transfusion. Mrs. Lewis refused a blood transfusion because she wanted to make sure that Olivia was healthy. Olivia ended up getting two transfusions from her father. Mr. Lewis now donates blood as much as he can. To the people who are afraid of needles, Mrs. Lewis says, “Suck it up! Giving blood isn’t as bad as you would imagine. I am afraid of needles. I can’t even watch my kids get shots. The part which includes the area being cleaned hurt more than the needle part. Make sure to tell the nurse you’re a baby. They’ll be nicer and they’ll tell you tricks about how to make the process go faster.” Olivia and Mrs. Lewis are now living very healthy lives.

Donating blood is a very safe process and every sterile needle is only used once for each donor and then discarded. Blood donation is only four simple steps: registration, medical history and mini-physical, donation and refreshments. The mini-physical every donor is given includes taking the donor’s temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin to make sure the donor is safe to give blood. The actual blood donation only typically takes 10-12 minutes, and the entire amount of time from when you arrive and leave is about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It only takes about one hour to save someone’s life. If you wish to donate blood and you’re 16 years old, please get a doctor’s note, and if you’re 17 years old, please get a permission slip for parental consent in Room 154 from Mr. Moody or Haben Berhe. If you’re over 18, you can pick up a sign-up form and donate on your own. Every donation matters.

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