New Jersey Blood Services asked students sixteen years or older to donate blood in the APR on Wednesday, September 28.

The blood drive was held in the All Purpose Room from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Junior Gabriella Feige and Senior Laurent Shiels ran this year’s blood drive and worked hard to ensure that the blood drive was successful.

Shiels is an EMT who volunteers at the ambulance core in town and is interested in the medical field.

“It is so helpful to those who need it, because you get to save lives by doing something very harmless and quick. The donations could go to someone you’re close to or someone in Glen Rock who really needs it,” Feige said.

The high school’s blood drive has been around for many years. According to Feige, last year 72 people registered to give blood, and a total of 60 units of blood were collected.

“This year we’d like to beat last year’s record,” Feige said. 74 people were pre-registered but the turnout during the event was slightly higher.

“We had 76 people registered. A few people didn’t show up but then we also had a couple of walk-ins, so it balances it out and that’s better than we thought we were doing. We have a lot of people doing the ALYX machine, which gets more blood,” Feige said.

Donating blood is becoming more important than ever. Some patients may need an urgent blood transfusion, and they’re not able to get the help that they need in time.

“The need for donated blood is constant and extremely helpful to those who need it,” Feige said.

Anastasia Zenkevich, a junior knows the importance of donating blood from personal experience.

“My friend’s dad had cancer, and so he needed a blood transfusion,” she said.

Feige, who believes some people may be nervous about the pain, shared some advice.

“It’s less scary than you think, so don’t hesitate to do it if you’re afraid of needles. My opinion is that, in the end, the outcomes of possibly saving someone’s life outweigh me being nervous for less than 15 minutes,” Feige said.

Zenkevich said she would encourage her friends to donate blood as well.

“Before, I was a little nervous because I’m not that great with needles. Afterwards… you feel good about yourself because you just helped save someone,” Zenkevich said.