On October 29th, 2025, the HOPE Club organized its annual Fall Blood Drive with the help of the American Red Cross in the South Windsor High School library and media center. Students, teachers, and South Windsor residents had the opportunity to donate one pint of blood in order to help meet the national demand for blood in both hospitals and medical centers.
Despite the opportunity, fewer South Windsor High School students donated this year compared to last. South Windsor High School junior James O’Brien shared his thoughts on donating blood with The Prowl.
“I think it’s a really good thing to do if you’re able to and it could help save lives, which is very nice,” O’Brien said.
Although O’Brien, and likely many others at South Windsor High School, had this positive outlook on the prospect of donating blood, he ended up not donating due to outside factors.
“This year, I was too busy to donate blood, but next year might be different and I can,” O’Brien said.
As O’Brien mentioned, the end of each quarter can be an especially busy time for students.This leads to less students being willing to skip class to donate in fear of not being able to raise their grade before the end of the quarter. This sentiment is shared by HOPE Club members and executive board members alike.
“I believe the low donor count was primarily because of the scheduling,” junior and HOPE Club Executive Board member, Shruti Shah said. “This year, the blood drive fell during the last week of the quarter where teachers pull more surprise quizzes so students didn’t want to miss class time to donate.”
Despite the sizable amount of donations, teachers and South Windsor residents included, there is a noticeable decrease in donors compared to last year’s fall blood drive.
“The donor count last year was about 48 and this year we had 38.” Biology teacher and HOPE Club advisor, Ms. Karasinski said.
The issues with scheduling had a noticeable impact on the turnout of the blood drive, but other personal factors also played a part in the lower donation count of the event. Many students were also deterred by fear of needles or discomfort around blood.
“I don’t know if it’s for me, but I think it’s a very good way to help people…I don’t do great with needles and bloodwork in general, so it’s more of a personal thing,” junior Timothy Landgrebe said.
Despite the lower turnout, the HOPE Club reached a new milestone — its first power Red donation.
“We had our first Power Red donation which is when someone donates twice as many red blood cells and the product saves the same amount of lives but it goes to the NICU, which are basically newborns and infants that need blood transfusions,” Karasinski told The Prowl.
South Windsor High School school counselor, Mr. Briggs, was the first person to do a Power Red donation at the blood drive. Due to the increased time a Power Red donation requires, as well as the specific blood type required, Briggs was the only person to do a Power Red donation.
The advent of Power Red donations at the blood drives now gives staff and students alike a unique opportunity to help save the lives of infants and newborns in need, provided they’ve donated blood before.
The HOPE Club works tirelessly to further promote and push the benefits of donating blood, as well as debunking common ideas of the “fears” around donating blood. One of the key ideas the club pushed was that a donation of one pint of blood can save three lives, potentially motivating individuals to donate.
Due to blood donations constantly being needed in hospitals and other medical facilities, the blood drives can be a great opportunity to help out others in need, with the added bonus of convenience for students and staff of South Windsor High School.
If you are interested in donating blood, keep an eye out for the January and March blood drives as the school year progresses.
