Concord High School is preparing for its annual blood drive May 8, in which Red Cross workers collect one pint of blood from any student volunteer who is at least 16 years old, has parent consent if under 18, weighs 110 or more pounds, and does not use non-prescription drugs.
Concord Regional Technical Center students enrolled in Health Science classes will be assisting staff from the Red Cross, a humanitarian organization staffed mostly by volunteer workers and a few paid employees with an overall goal of helping as many people as possible worldwide. 
“Students are always so happy to donate. It’s always a success to have such a big turn out and it’s good to know we’re saving lives by hosting this event,” said senior Helen Massah, a second-year participant in Health Science.
In the United States, there is a new need for blood every two seconds, and keeping up with this demand is an extremely difficult task for the Red Cross to achieve.
One single victim from a car-crash can require up to 100 pints of blood and often times these needs are not able to be addressed by hospitals due to a lack of available blood.
All blood types are requested during the May 8 blood drive at CHS, and staff would never turn away anyone for their type of blood, but the most common request from the Red Cross is that people with ‘Type O’ blood sign up to donate.
A person with Type O blood is known as a universal donor, meaning that regardless of the blood type of the person who is receiving blood, Type O will almost always be accepted.
Regardless of blood type, each donation has the potential to save up to three different lives.
Some people don’t donate blood because they fear needles, worry that they’ll feel weak or believe that donations by others are sufficient to meet need, but Health Science teacher Sharon Bean urges people to take part. “Donating blood is safe, quick, and easy.”