The Health Occupation Students of America Club (HOSA) organized a blood drive to be held at Bob Jones High School on Thursday, November 9th, in partnership with LifeSouth.

Darby Harris, a HOSA officer, said, “The representatives from LifeSouth were extremely helpful and made organizing the entire event simple.”

To donate blood, you must be 17 or older, or 16 with parent permission, at least 110 pounds. Also, if you have gotten on a tattoo in the past 6 months, visited an area with a high malaria risk, or lived in Europe during the mad cow outbreak in the past 5 years, you cannot donate.

Soumyaa Utlapalli, HOSA Vice President, said, “Students who don’t meet the requirements are more than welcome to have their parents come donate. In the afternoon, we have some open slots so they can just come sometime after school until 3 and we should be able to accommodate them.”

The drive will be held in the auditorium commons area from 10 am to 3 pm.

“With one blood donation saving three lives, we wanted to unite the school to give back to the community that supports our school in the classroom and out on the field. I was motivated to find an opportunity that would utilize our member’s passion for medicine and healthcare and found a  blood drive to be the perfect opportunity,” Kate Newberry, HOSA’s project manager explained. “Working with Mrs. Lambert we got approval to host the first blood drive at BJHS in 15 years and we are hopeful to continue the blood drive through the upcoming years!”