Students donate 79 pints of blood to Community Blood Services of New Jersey

  1. On November 20th of this school year, West Milford High School held it’s usually annual Blood Drive! This service was held by Community Blood Services of New Jersey. The Community Blood Services has been serving New Jersey for over 60 years. They are the only cord blood service in all of the state of New Jersey. They serve many hospitals, including our local Chilton Memorial.
    Our blood drive had 84 participants, comprised of both staff and students. That’s not bad for how many students are even eligible to donate! The drive took place in the auditorium of the high school, which honestly looked a bit like a trauma center. Even though it was a success, many people post-donation passed out, or did not feel well. They also tried using an experimental process. This process was the drawing of blood, the removal of plasma, the reinsertion of plasma into the donor, then the blood was collected. This left some feeling woozy or drained, perhaps more than a regular procedure. The drive gathered 79 pints of blood. One pint of blood can save at least three lives! That’s about 237 lives! Part of the blood drive was a raffle as well. The names of all student participants were entered into a raffle, for which the prize was a free parking pass. The winner was Tim Zoller! Congrats!
    It’s a great thing to do Blood Drive, especially when we possibly saved 237 people. Can you imagine if more people were eligible and did in fact donate? Thank you Highlanders for donating for those in need.