Blood drive, Harvest Festival coming to Ernest Stapleton Elementary

The 2023 Harvest Fest at Ernest Stapleton Elementary will not only offer fun, food and games, it will also give parents a chance to save lives through a blood drive.

The Harvest Fest, set for Oct. 20, will have activities, a haunted house, corn hole and functions as a fundraiser for the school’s PTA.

First-grade teacher Billie Helean wants to take advantage of the big crowd at the school for the Harvest Fest by setting up the blood drive. A Vitalant bloodmobile will be on hand, taking donations from 4-7 p.m. The Harvest Fest runs from 5-7 p.m.

“Blood donation is really important. Even one donation can save up to three lives,” Helean said. “It’s something that people can do regularly; I personally donate every three months, whenever I’m eligible again. And a lot of people are eligible to donate but they don’t know that they are. So having people come and even ask if they’re eligible to donate is really helpful. Because it does make such a difference.”

According to Vitalant, 4.5 million people per year in the U.S. need a blood transfusion. Someone needs blood every 2.5 seconds. Only 37% of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood, and of those, only 10% actually donate annually (that’s about 3% of the entire population that donates blood). More than 2,700 children need blood products at the Children’s National in Washington, DC.

Here’s what happens during a blood donation:

1. Check in and meet with trained staff to complete your health screening and questionnaire.
2. A donor care specialist will review your results and determine the best way for you to donate.
3. Relax while your specialist prepares materials and equipment.
4. The specialist will clean an area on your arm and insert a sterile needle to begin.
5. Samples of your blood will be collected for testing.
6. You will then complete the whole blood donation process, which can take up to 15 minutes (usually 1O).
7. Enjoy light refreshments to replenish fluids and nutrients.

The whole process takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

“It’s just a little — minimally — painful when they stick the needle in. It’s actually really nice,” Helean said. “They can get snacks afterwards and there’s actually a really nice donation organization. They have a rewards program that you can join as well. So as a regular donor, very frequently you’ll get free tickets to movies and things like that. So there’s lots of little incentives to donate blood. It’s actually really, really cool.”

To schedule an appointment to donate blood at Ernest Stapleton on Oct. 20, click here.

To schedule an appointment at the Rio Rancho Vitalant Donation Center, click here.