FAHS Hosts Miller-Keystone Blood Drive

Anyone interested in participating in and learning more about the FAHS blood drive should ask science teacher Mrs. Jennifer Neiman or visit Miller Keystone´s website giveapint.org. 

There have been two student drives recently, one on 16 October and the one on 26 October. On 21 October, there was a drive held for the public. If those days don’t work, and someone would like to still sign up, there will be another one held in January and April. 

The blood drive is located at the Fleetwood Area High School, using trailers outside the auditorium entrance. If anyone hasn’t already signed up but would like to ask Neiman, he or she can scan the posters in the hallway. Teachers or staff members should enroll through email.

Participants must be 16 or older, and they can’t have any tattoos or piercings within the last year, must be 110 lbs., and cannot have any health issues. Moreover, participants are only allowed to be on certain medications. 

Miller Keystone will obviously be attending to help, as will Neiman and nurse Mrs. Alicia Seaman. This year student coordinators will only be helping with recruits and helping people check-in. Canteen aids and donor aids that help after the process will not be in attendance.

The student coordinators this year are Kylie Frain, Abigail Geschwindt, Rachel Grayek, Sacha Joseph, Sarah Loeffler, Sydney Wessner, Taylor Pavlick, Haylee Schaner, and Caroline York.

“I have been part of the blood drive since I was a sophomore. I have helped with checking people in and out of the drive, gave out snacks at the canteen, and been a donor aid. I have loved helping out with the drives over the years–great community service and something cool to learn the process of! All we do as coordinators is help organize the drives (advertising and getting people to sign up) and help out during the drive in the positions I had mentioned earlier. If you want more information about the specifics of the drive, Mrs. Neiman is the lady to see!” Wessner said.

“I have enjoyed watching our students and faculty donate a lifesaving gift to or community that cannot be artificially manufactured. Hosting blood drives has allowed our students to participate in a community service project that helps save lives while teaching them leadership skills and how to work together as a team,” Seaman Said. ¨It is very important to donate blood because it is the only source to make blood.”

¨The earlier you donate the more likely you are to continue,” Neiman said.

Last year, FAHS collected over 250 pints of blood from staff, students, and community members. The blood collected by Miller-Keystone stays in the area; they serve 20+ local hospitals, so donations go directly to helping people locally.

Robin Schappell has been working with Miller-Keystone for more than a little over a year now. She is the accountant manager, which means she creates relationships with the businesses and helps them create a blood program.

¨Traditionally, mobile drives are responsible for 60% of the blood supply; however, since Covid-19, the mobile drives are collecting 35% due to school closures,” Schappell said.

Miller-Keystone has a program called Adopt-A-Day, which is a blood drive at their facility for any business or organization that is unable to hold a drive at their facility.

“We need to attract and engage new donors in order to meet the growing demand for blood,” Schappell said.

Only 5% of the population donates.  Miller-Keystone also is participating in the Convalescent Plasma Program, which has been very effective in helping patients with Covid-19.