Danielle Nickell
How has blood donation changed your life?
I am currently a member of the Leadership Class 2015-2016 at MacArthur High School, which is a group comprised of our high school’s most elite seniors. One day the ladies from the Oklahoma Blood Institute came to our school with an idea for a blood drive to be held; myself and the entire Leadership class thought it would be impossible to organize a blood drive where over 200 donations were made in such a short amount of time. Although, with all our worries and nerves pushed aside, we came together as the leaders we are and made a huge miracle occur. With a little under three weeks before the big day, we split ourselves up to work on specific things. Everyone was important to the cause whether one worked in concessions, check-in, the library, or as the director. In concessions, students had to serve donors with snacks and gatorade in order to make sure everyone was well nourished prior to and after their donation. At the check-in booth students signed in all donors and assisted them in finding their way around the blood drive and in the library students helped all donors fill out the blood donation survey. Lastly, the directors made sure each committee ran smoothly. This task couldn’t have been done without us all working together simultaneously. My job was working in the library; in this position I signed people in and assisted them as they filled out the donation survey. It was absolutely beautiful to see how so many were excited to save another’s life.
Once it was my turn to fill out the survey and go down to the gym to donate my pint of blood, I could feel my heart rate raising and my palms increasingly sweating. It was as though I couldn’t even write my name because my hands were so jittery due to my anxiety. Although, as I sat in the doctor chair, was given with a snack, and faced with so much encouragement and comfort from my peers I was completely ready to tackle my fear of giving blood. My best friend, Whitney, gripped my hand tightly as my blood was drawn. This was an experience I’ll never forget because it didn’t only change my life but someone else’s as well. In the back of my mind I kept thinking about what another child was going through and how my blood would make a difference is his/her life, that is what ultimately pushed me to conquering my fear of needles.
By the end of the day, we counted the total of donations, and we were honored and surprised to see that we met our goal of 200 donations. The best part of playing such an important part in the blood drive was learning about how big of an impact we actually made. Since so many teenagers donated, our blood was used specifically for babies in need. The youth is very special to me since they will be the future generations of society and the ones leading our country on day. Giving blood is an experience that I will cherish for a lifetime.
