On Wednesday, January 23, Summerville High School hosted a blood drive to help people in need.

This year Student Council is hosting 4 blood drives; the blood that is donated could be used to help some of our very own students.

Erykah Weldon has Sickle Cell Anemia, a group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down. As a result, Weldon has needed a monthly blood transfusion since she was 5 years old.

“I have too much iron in my blood. I go to the doctor and they take out blood, and then they transfuse blood back into me to take out some of the iron, so I can be more healthy.” said Weldon.

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I have too much iron in my blood. I go to the doctor and they take out blood, and then they transfuse blood back into me to take out some of the iron, so I can be more healthy”

— Weldon

“It’s good for people to donate blood because you never know who you’re helping out with your blood” continued Weldon.

Donating blood can make all the difference.

“Me having sickle cell, without these transfusions, my life would be completely different. I would be in bed and not able to hangout with my friends, or even have a social life

“It’s really good to donate blood and I hope people continue to do it so people like can me can continue to have a life” continued Weldon.

It’s important to donate blood to help people like Weldon and other in our area. One pint of your donated blood can save 3 lives and make such a difference.

On Wednesday 66 pints of blood was donated by Summerville students and faculty.

The blood that was donated will be used to help people in our state and country.

The blood drive was organized by the American Red Cross, which goes around communities across the nation to host blood drives.

The Red Cross helps people in need of blood transfusion which are needed as a result of car accidents, surgical procedures and inherited diseases like Sickle Cell Anemia.

To put into perspective the importance of donating blood, about 4.5 million Americans could die every year due to not getting blood transfusions. In the US alone 32,000 pints of blood are used everyday to save lives. One in every hundred Americans are born with Sickle Cell.