Saint Louis School and the Blood Bank of Hawaii partnered this past Halloween season to host a blood drive on campus.

The recent SLS Blood Drive, sponsored by the school’s National Honor Society, welcomed close to sixty blood donations from students and their families.  While all eligible students were encouraged to donate, Polynesian blood was  particularly in high demand.  “Our National Honor Society student council worked hard to get as many people into the blood drive as possible,”  explains Joshua Ito, a senior and National Honors Society member.  NHS members focused on finding potential donors and raising awareness for the drive.

“Donating blood is really important because a lot of people need the blood, especially those of Polynesian ancestry or have a certain blood type,” adds Ito. “During the pandemic, the [Blood Bank] didn’t get a whole lot of blood.” However, with the help of community blood drives like this, Hawaii’s Blood Bank is working to replenish its pre-pandemic supply, especially as the holidays approach.

While the exact number of Polynesian donors is unknown, a total of 58 donations were given by Saint Louis students and their families.  Student donors also received five hours of community service and, graduating seniors, who have made four or more donations before graduation, will wear a special chord at the ceremony.  

For those who plan to donate in the future, there are a few things to keep in mind.  NHS Advisor, Kristin Trout, explained, “We had a lot of people who didn’t drink water,” explains NHS Advisory, Kristin Trout, “and what happens when you don’t drink water is your blood starts to clot and it’s unusable.”  Certain medications and illnesses can also make blood unusable.  

Blood donations continue to save lives and the shortage caused by the pandemic has made student donations more important than ever.  There will be a second blood drive in February so there’s still time to get involved.