Collinsville High School Health Occupations Students Association (HOSA) partnered with Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) to organize, promote and execute a recent blood drive that collected 174 units of blood. These blood products will help nearly 700 patients at health care centers in our region.
The CHS Blood Drive had a record number of students and staff (264) sign up, and the resulting collection exceeded the expected goal for the day. According to Sherry Modeer, CHS/Collinsville Area Vocational Center Clinical Nursing instructor, “No other large school in our area comes close to our numbers for secondary blood drives.”
Collinsville Area Vocational Center (CAVC) Clinical Health Occupations students actively participated in collecting the blood and comforting nervous students and staff. The event gave them hands-on experience usually found in a clinical setting outside of school.
Alissa Fuhrmann, Donor Relations Consultant for Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, said, “We appreciated everyone at Collinsville High School for hosting the blood drive recently. Without your contribution, the blood drive would not have happened and certainly would not have been successful. We sincerely appreciate your role in helping to maintain the local supply of blood products.”
“In order to meet patient needs for blood and blood components, MVRBC requires more than 2,000 donations from volunteer blood donors every week,” said Fuhrmann. “Yet while 37 percent of the population is eligible to give, less than 10 percent actually do. We rely on the support and dedication of our area high schools to maintain a safe and adequate blood supply for patients throughout the area.”
“Collinsville High School has provided a critical lifesaving resource to patients in our community at the hospitals MVRBC serves including Anderson Hospital, HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Touchette Regional Hospital. The blood products collected will help as many as 696 patients at these health care centers plus many more in the surrounding area,” she said.
Donor Eligibility Criteria: Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org) and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. or MVRBC Donor Card is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at (800)747-5401.
About Blood Donation: Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.
ABOUT MVRBC: Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 85 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.