PUKALANI – “Help a bud, give some blood!” said one sign advertising the annual Blood Drive down at Ka’ulaheanuiokamoku Gym yesterday.

By the end of the day, the Blood Bank of Hawaiʻi had drawn 79 pints of blood from students, staff, and members of the community.

This year, the event was coordinated by senior Rachel Smith as a part of her senior project.

“I want to go into health services as a career, so I thought it would be cool to do this for [my senior project],” she said.

She was assisted by her adviser, Ms. Brandy Cajudoy, who is not only the school’s Algebra II teacher, but also the adviser to the KS Maui chapter of the Health Occupations Students of America.

Over one hundred people showed up, though some people were not able to donate.

“[Those not eligible] were really upset that they couldn’t give blood…it’s nice to see that they care so much for the cause,” Smith said.

There were several reasons as to why one wouldn’t be able to give blood. Some exclusionary qualifiers were if the donor:

• had traveled to a different country within the past year
• did not weigh at least 110 lbs.
• had a temperature above 99.5 degrees
• had a high heart rate
• had low iron levels
• was not at least 17 years old

However, for the most part, those who had signed up were able to give blood. Smith was pleased with the turn out.

“I didn’t expect so many people to come out, and it felt great seeing them support this,” she said.

Each donors gave 1 pint of blood, which took approximately 15 minutes per person. One pint of blood can save up to three lives, depending on how it is eventually used.

“I’d definitely do this next year,” junior donor Shai Ibara said. “It’s such a good cause, and now I know that this could save more than one life.”

Ibara, like Smith, is in the HOSA club.