![A healthcare worker prepares a student's cot before they donate blood. "For the most part, especially [at] bigger high schools, a lot of kids come in to donate because they want to get started on doing something good," healthcare worker Yuridia Rojas said. "And we do have a few people that, you know, do like to miss class."](https://threepennypress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4FRh635esmyOx3O06IdBmi6AdV1W6zb4y3J59wSm-1200x755.jpg)
The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps hosted its quarterly blood drive in collaboration with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center on Dec. 13 in room 1706.
“JROTC is about giving your time for the benefit of the community, team building and leadership,” JROTC Cadet and junior Angelina Castro said. “It’s fitting for our program to organize something that really helps other people and connects us with others.”
Students and teachers who wished to participate in the blood drive came to the JROTC room to register and answer a series of questions to determine if they were eligible to donate blood. Then, they sat in the donation area and had their blood drawn for 15 minutes, followed by a 15-minute recovery period.
The JROTC blood drive was senior and donor Joselyn Esmeralda’s first time donating blood at school. She has donated blood regularly since she was 17, as her mother is a medical assistant. Esmeralda initially tried donating blood in September but did not meet the hemoglobin level requirement. By following the healthcare workers’ suggestions to increase her hemoglobin count, Esmeralda could donate to the blood drive.
“Just knowing that I could donate blood and save a life makes me feel good,” Esmeralda said. “At first, I was pretty scared because a lot of people were saying it would hurt. [But] I think the process is pretty smooth here.”
GCRBC Donor Collections Coordinator Yuridia Rojas visits different high schools daily, like Bellaire, for blood drives. She started drawing blood for donation 23 years ago.
“People [need] blood for different reasons, such as a car accident or cancer patients needing platelet transfusions,” Rojas said. “The only way to have blood on the shelves is thanks to the donors.”
Rojas’ favorite part of her job is meeting the diverse groups of students that come to draw blood. In fact, 16 and 17-year-olds donate 10% of the United States’ blood supply.
“One donation you could be making takes about an hour out of your life,” Rojas said. “It can make a difference in the rest of somebody’s life.”
Donate blood in JROTC’s next blood drive on Jan. 31. Contact the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to make a difference in someone else’s life.
