As he sat munching animal crackers, Darien resident Tomas Slapsys claims he was not light-headed at all.

Tomas was one of many donating plasma during a Hinsdale South High School Student Council Blood Drive Tuesday, Nov. 3.

“Donating plasma was a little different than donating blood, which I did last year. When you donate plasma they take out blood, but they separate the plasma from the blood, then pump the blood back into you,” said Tomas, a senior. “It was a different feeling watching it go back into me.”

Tomas was one of more than 100 students who donated blood or plasma at the event, sponsored by the school’s Student Council. About five teachers also donated.

“It’s a good feeling knowing you are helping others,” Tomas said. “It only took about a half-an-hour to go through the process.”

Many of the participating students said they got a double dose of satisfaction because there was more to it than just donating blood.

“Not only do we provide blood for those who need it, we also help raise money for the school’s scholarship fund. So we are also helping our own students by providing funds for education,” said Aaron Runkel, a senior living in Darien.

LifeSource donates funds to the school’s scholarship program based on the volume of blood generated, said Stephen Moore, an English teacher who is the faculty co-sponsor of the Student Council.

On Tuesday, Student Council members began setting up chairs and tables in the auxiliary physical education room on the second floor at about 7 a.m., but the work recruiting donors began much earlier, said Anjali Pal, a junior who also serves as the Student Council publicity chairwoman.

“We’ve all been recruiting other students to donate by word of mouth for a few weeks, and also by placing posters around school,” said Anjali , a Burr Ridge resident.

Students donating blood were allowed out of class for about an hour to participate, and by the end of the day 107 pints of blood and plasma had been collected, said Stephen.

“It was a great success. This is a great school with great kids, so it stands to reason the kids would respond so well,” he said.

This blood drive, conducted by Glenview-based LifeSource, was the first of two scheduled at Hinsdale South throughout the school year. The second will take place in April.

“We won’t know for sure how much in scholarship funds we will have raised until after the second blood drive in April, but we are on track to beat what we raised last year,” Stephen said. “Our goal is $2,000.”

Dennis Panozzo, account manager for LifeSource, said the high school environment is a great one in which to work.

“The kids are really enthusiastic, and they make a social event out of it. It’s important also because once kids at this age donate blood, they often continue to do so into adulthood,” Panozzo said.

Stephen said conducting a drive with many students in attendance also helps some alleviate fears often associated with blood donations.

“Some kids who have not gone through if might be a little intimidated, but they are among others who have gone through it, and they watch the process. Also, the professionals drawing the blood are really good at handling the students,” he said.

Upon entering the donation area students signed in, then waited to be tested by LifeSource technicians.

A few students were turned away, mostly girls who showed low iron levels in their blood.
“We had about 130 register, and about 25 were turned away,” Stephen said.

After donating students then went to a waiting area where they ate snacks and drank a variety of fluids before returning to class.

“I’ve enjoyed doing it,” Tomas said. “Last year, they gave out popcorn, this year animal crackers and pretzels. And this time, I got out of my creative writing class.”