The blood drive has been going on at Heavener High for many years. The Arkansas Oklahoma Blood Institute is the company that puts on our blood drive. They come at least four times a year, and always have some type of awesome t-shirt to give to the donors who qualify to donate. This time the t-shirts come in one of your favorite college football teams colors the choices are OU, OSU, or U of A. There is always a goal for how many donors that we have and the goal is usually around thirty to thirty-five donors. There are many times where that the goal is not hit due to low iron or, not enough breakfast, or parents not signing permission slips. There is something very special about the Arkansas Oklahoma Blood Institue, and that is in some cases you could be saving a person's life that you know personally. Much of the blood that is donated in our area is usually used in places like Fort Smith, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and even Fayetteville.
Senior Journey Perdue has been giving blood for many years and when asked how that has changed her life said “giving blood has been a part of my life since I turned sixteen, since I have given seven times. My Dad and Grandma are my biggest motivators. They have both needed blood and I’m so thankful they were able to receive all they needed. I love contributing and knowing that I could really be saving lives. I encourage anyone who would like to give blood to do it and this is coming from a girl who is absolutely terrified of needles, It’s worth it.”
Sometimes, our high school students get sick or even pass out during the donation process. Junior Keily Brown has experienced one of those incidents. When asked how that has changed here prospective on donating she replied, “I went into it being happy I was going to save a life and that was the reason I wanted to donate so bad, but since I've passed out it’s changed my perspective completely because I still want to donate and be someone that does something good but I can’t and that’s a little disappointing.”
Giving blood is sometimes a sacrifice, and yet a great one. We thank all the ones that chose to donate it is for a great cause and you might just do it to get the t-shirt but still, you are doing a good deed for a great cause.