PUHI — There were those who wanted to give, but could not Tuesday at Kaua‘i Community College. “This was going to be my first time giving blood, and they said I didn’t have enough iron,” said Jennifer Pasol, a Kaua‘i
PUHI — There were those who wanted to give, but could not Tuesday at Kaua‘i Community College.
“This was going to be my first time giving blood, and they said I didn’t have enough iron,” said Jennifer Pasol, a Kaua‘i Community College Pre-Nursing student. “They even tested me twice to make sure.”
But the disappointment did not stop Pasol from volunteering with the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i community blood drive at the KCC Student Lounge.
“This is a collaborative effort with the Associated Students of the University of Hawai‘i-KCC, and the KCC Nursing Department,” said Kim O’Brien of the KCC Nursing Department, co-coordinator for the blood drive. “We are taking registrations of donors for the next drive coming in early June, providing food, and through the KCC Massage Therapy program, offering complimentary massages.”
Virginia Dunas headed up the corps of massage therapists greeting blood donors exiting the lounge in a special area set up by John Constantino and Nelson Batalion of the ASUH-KCC.
“They did a really good job getting everything set up so this is a really nice atmosphere,” Dunas said. “They were up early doing this and will probably be here late to take everything down once it’s over.”
O’Brien said the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i brings everything it needs to conduct the community drive, which started at 8 a.m. and ran through 5 p.m. The crew will conclude its drive today at the War Memorial Convention Hall, where it will operate from 7:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“We just provide the extras like the facility, food and beverages,” O’Brien said. “The massage therapy program offered the complimentary massages. The food came from Mark’s Place and Kaua‘i Bakery.”
Batalion, coming off a busy weekend with ASUH-KCC hosting the KCC Spring Festival and the Movie Under the Stars, proudly showed off his red band on his arm from his contribution to the drive.
He said the drive was not that difficult to put together because of the help from the KCC Nursing Department, and is already looking ahead to the next event, the Earth Day celebration on April 22 starting at 11 a.m.
Char Ono, the KCC Nursing Department director, said the next program the department will host is a day-long end-of-life conference, “Living with Dying,” for health care providers on April 20. The conference will take place at the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort.
Blood is the red liquid carrying oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body and carries carbon dioxide and other waste products back to the lungs, kidneys and liver for disposal, states the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i Web site. It fights against infection and helps heal wounds so people can stay healthy.
There is no substitute for blood. If people lose blood from surgery or injury, or if their bodies cannot produce enough blood, the only other source is volunteer blood donors, the site says.
For more information, or to book an appointment for the next community blood drive, visit www.bbh.org.
“This is great the blood drive coincides with April being National Donate A Life month,” Constantino said. “We would have done it, anyway.” (See sidebar for more information.)
