With a goal set at 25 units of blood, Tyrone HOSA members are gearing up for their annual winter Blood Drive which is set to take place on December 15th.

However, the weather event forecast for tomorrow may cancel the blood drive, or change some student donation times.

“If we cancel school, the blood drive will also be canceled and probably won’t be rescheduled. We’ll aim for the next drive in April,” said HOSA Advisor Christie Taylor,  “If it is a 2-hour delay, the blood drive will begin at its appointed time-8:30. I will be here to help set up and sign in donors from the community.”

If students have appointments over the delay, they are not required to come in. They can give blood at another time slot later in the day, said Taylor.

HOSA has been organizing the blood drive for almost six years but these past two years have been even more important because the need for blood donations is greater than ever.

According to the American Red Cross, the country is facing an emergency blood shortage. Due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic in previous years, blood donations have reached their lowest levels of the year, decreasing to about 10%.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have experienced challenges collecting blood for patients from blood drive cancellations to surging hospital demand,” said the president of Red Cross Biomedical Services, Chris Hrouda, in a national press release. “Now with decreased blood donor turnout, our Red Cross blood supply has dropped to the lowest it has been at this time of year since 2015.”

Tyrone students have answered the call for blood donations as many students are donating blood to help the needs of the American Red Cross Foundation. Members of the community are also welcome to donate blood by entering the highschool through the doors in front of the high school gym.

If you are not sure if you are eligible to donate please click the link below for a full list of requirements:

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements.html

Students who are interested in donating must be at least 16 years old with parental consent, or 17 without parental consent. Donors must be in good health and weigh at least 110 pounds. Those who received tattoos or piercing in the last year are not permitted to donate.

HOSA will again sponsor an annual blood drive in the spring at Tyrone Area High School for students and staff who are interested in donating blood.