Carmel students step up to give blood during community drive

Students at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein donated blood as a way to give back to the community and help those in need during a drive Wednesday.

Carmel hosts bi-annual blood drives for Vitalant during the school year, once in the fall, and again in the spring, said Philip Donner, student council moderator.

“There's a lot of people who need blood and I can obviously give it, so why not just help people? It’s a very easy thing to do,” said junior Gabriela Osorio, who was among a group of students who donated blood.

Sean Heraty, Vitalant donor recruitment representative, said hospitals which they supply, including those in the Endeavor Health and Northwest Community Healthcare systems, are in constant need of blood, platelets, plasma and red blood cells, all of which have a shelf life varying from five days for platelets and 42 days for red blood cells.

“Our focus is to make sure they have the blood that they need,” Heraty said.