University of California holds blood drive at Mira Costa

By Patrick Lucas

Staff Writer

The annual University of California, Los Angeles blood drive took place in the Costa gym on Feb. 10 and contributed almost 80 pints of blood to UCLA patients in

Mira Costa will put on three total blood drives a year. One in November, February and June. If Costa were to average around 80 pints per drive, amounting to a total of 240 pints per year.

“The impact of blood donation for the patients of the hospital is lifesaving.” Hoffman said. “We can’t take care of our patients without blood components. A single trauma victim such as somebody who is in an earthquake or a car accident could very well need 100 units of blood or more.”

Students signed themselves up and didn’t need parental consent unless they were 16. At their designated period, students would report to the gym to donate. From there, volunteers go through a packet of paperwork to determine whether or not they were eligible donors. The purpose of the forms is primarily to identify if there are any issues with the donor’s blood before they donate. However, the blood itself undergoes further testing to make sure that a patient doesn’t receive diseased or unhealthy blood.

“From there, the donations will go to the blood bank at UCLA hospital where they’ll undergo disease tests and blood typing which takes three days,” project coordinator of the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center Matthew Hoffman said. “Once the units have cleared then they are released to the demo blood supply. So, by Saturday morning the blood will be ready for the patients in the hospital.”

According to activities director, Lisa Claypoole, there were so minor flaws in this month’s drive. Some seniors missed their appointments because of the senior photo, while others were hesitant to come because of the heat outside and in the gymnasium. In the end, Seniors were moved to later time slots and the drive was successful. Costa will continue to put on this event alongside the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center. The next blood drive takes place June 8.

“We have increased the number of blood drives we have this year and they may continue to increase throughout the years.” Mira Costa senior and blood drive volunteer Kennedi McCaroll said.