The sun blazed harshly as students headed into the Vitalant Blood Donation Center to donate blood on Sunday Nov. 14, 2021.  Ran by the Foothill Technology High School( Foothill Tech) BioScience program, students had the opportunity to donate blood to Vitalant, a non-profit provider that distributes blood to people in need. 

Students of ages 16 and up were capable of donating as long as they met the height and weight requirements in place. However, students below the age of 18 also had to have a parent or guardian sign a consent form giving them permission to donate.

Those who donated blood received three hours of community service and a Vitalant t-shirt to show their pride of becoming a part of the cause. 

Blood donator, Yuridiana Aguira ’23, mentioned that it’s important to donate blood to, “help others and save lives. “

Ashlyn Gomez ’21, a BioScience student who helped organize the event, stated that, “just donating blood once can save up to three lives.”

Foothill Tech donated 42 pints of blood, which will go to patients at hospitals, such as CMH and VCMC, with cancer, organ failure, leukemia and other circumstances requiring blood donations.