Every year South Salem High School holds their annual blood drive partnered with the Red Cross. This year, South’s blood drive took place on Dec. 6. During the blood drive students who were 16 and up had the chance to participate.

There are many types of donations such as whole blood, platelet apheresis, plasma apheresis, and power red donations. The two types of donations offered at South were whole and power red.

Whole blood donations are just simply a pint of blood containing red cells, plasma, platelets and/or cryoprecipitated antihemophilic factor [AHF].

The second type, power red, is when donors give two units of red blood cells, but returns the platelets and plasma. Both of these donations can last ten to 45 minutes.

Donors lay down and get hooked up to the equipment using a rubber ball to pump blood into the equipment. The Red Cross supplies 40 percent of our nation’s blood supplies, and nearly 6.8 million donate blood, according to the Red Cross website.