Bedford Hills Fifth Grade Volunteers Get NY Blood Center Training

“I’ve obviously never donated blood, but I think it would be cool to see,” said Bedford Hills Elementary School fifth grader Maya Zylber. She and about a dozen of her peers were in the library being trained as volunteers for a blood drive at the school that will take place on March 6 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“The blood center is the place where we collect blood for people who need it,” Camilo Rubio, account manager for Donor Recruitment at the New York Blood Center, told students. “We hope to get about 40 bags donated at each drive. Forty bags can help three people, but 1,800 to 2,000 are used every single day.”

Rubio explained that some diseases require transfusions every week. He also noted that not all donors who come to a blood drive will be eligible to donate. Some may be sick or may have traveled or gotten a tattoo or piercing recently.

“Most people don’t donate because they don’t know how important it is,” he said. “We have tried to create something to replace blood, but nothing works for humans except human blood.”

After learning about platelets, different blood types and the steps a donor will go through the day of the drive, students were ready to understand their part in the blood drive.

Rubio explained that donors have to stay for 15 to 20 minutes after donating to be sure they don’t have any reactions. It’s important that they eat and drink. That’s where the students will come in. They will refill snacks and drinks and keep an eye on donors for possible signs of a reaction.

“The first signal someone is having a reaction,” Rubio noted, “is that they’re very tired and they’ve started leaning on table. If you see that, tell a staff member right away.”

Students were full of questions about every part of the donation process and about half were eager to watch it happen.

“I want to see how the blood gets into the bag,” said Ella Englander. “It seems complicated. I’m excited to see how they do it.”

“I want to see how it is because a lot of times I get nervous about shots and if I see someone donating blood, I know I can be brave too,” said Vivienne St. Germain.

Thank you to our fifth-grade volunteers for stepping up to learn and do something new!