CHS blood drive exceeds expectations

       Parents, staff and students donated 56 pints of blood at Coronado High School Feb. 7.
       The amount was “three times the amount of blood we thought we'd get,” enthused CHS Student President Andrew Ives. “It was really successful.”
       The event was organized by the CHS Student Council, turning the school into a Penrose-St. Francis Health Systems Mobile Blood Drive site for 5 ˝ hours.
       Ives, who has been donating blood on his own for the past year (five gallons in all), wasn't sure why the event exceeded expectations. “I was pretty surprised, but here at Coronado a lot of students take pride in giving blood,” he said. “It's just the thought of it - let's give blood today.”
       His mother Jane works at the Penrose Blood Bank and helped coordinate the effort, Ives added.
       The way the Mobile Blood Drive works, a big, RV-sized hospital vehicle comes to a location (in this case CHS' parking lot); inside is a medical facility set up to take and store blood from donating individuals.
       “At Penrose-St. Francis Blood Bank, we transfuse more than 10,000 blood products each year. In order to meet the needs of our patients, we must collect 170-200 units every week. So, the need for blood donations is on-going,” the Penrose website states.
       Ives was additionally pleased with a compliment from the Penrose medical personnel. “They said we were the kindest students of all the high schools they've ever been to,” he said.

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