On Jan. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Oxford School District hosted their annual blood drive. This year, the blood drive was organized by Oxford High School nurse Ashley Ledbetter, who collaborated with Mississippi Blood Services (MBS) to prepare.
“I was approached by Dana Boyles, who works for Mississippi Blood Services,” Ledbetter said. “She reached out to me about hosting a blood drive, which the high school does every year. I have been in contact with her since October trying to figure out the logistics.”
Mississippi Blood Services collaborates with members of OHS administration, and travels from Jackson, Miss. to make the blood drive happen. Usually, MBS brings large trucks that students enter to donate blood. However, this year the temperatures dropped so low that they had to make last minute adjustments to ensure all blood donors would be comfortable.
“The majority of the nurses that do this work for Mississippi Blood Services,” Ledbetter said, “Usually they have big trucks that they bring and have everything already set up. But, it was so cold that we decided to set up in a class- room. They brought in their beds and all the equipment, and we set up the intake, the donation section, and the resting/post-donation area. I appreciate that we have those options and space to make people more comfortable.”
OHS teacher Dana McGivney, a sponsor for the blood drive, offered to use her room for the blood drive due to it being larger than most classrooms at the high school. This is her first year teaching a health science class, which has a long history of assisting in the organization of the blood drive.
“The past few years the health science class has helped coordinate with the school nurse to have a blood drive here at OHS,” McGivney said. “This is my first time here for the job so I just kind of fell into the role. When we set up in my room we had to take everything out and bring in all of their equipment. I thought it was interesting that all the equipment they had was mobile and that they could set up about six stations for blood donation.”
William Atchley, a junior at Oxford High School, was one of many students who decided to donate blood. Like most donors, he felt some of the common side effects of donating blood such as light-headedness, nausea, or dizziness.
“It went well most of the time, but at the very end I started to feel lightheaded,” Atchley said. “But, after a while I was fine. The only real negative was that I could not practice with my sports team the afternoon after I donated blood.”
Feeling weak or sick is extremely common while donating blood, and the nurses of OHS and Mississippi Blood Services go to great lengths to ensure that every student is taken care of and accommodated during the drive.
“The nurses are watching very closely,” Ledbetter said. “One of the most common things is that people will get lightheaded and feel like they are about to pass out. Often, when someone gets light headed they will get real flushed and hot. There was a student we had to put ice packs on as she started to pass out. She was overheated, I held her hand and kept trying to wake her up, and made sure she was drinking ginger ale to settle the nausea.”
Currently, the United States is experiencing a blood shortage. In July of 2024, the American Red Cross had the lowest number of
people donating blood in the past 20 years. According to Northwestern Medicine, low blood donations can be linked to several factors such as busy travel seasons, seasonal viral illnesses in communities, and climate-driven disasters.
“People generally do not like donating blood, but donating blood does not take that long,” Ledbetter said. “But, after donating blood you have to take steps to make sure that you are taking care of your body. When people think of donating blood, they think it takes up too much time. I think they believe it is a bigger process and bigger deal than it is. Unfortunately it is inconvenient for a lot of folks.”
The process of donating blood can take roughly 30 to 60 minutes, but according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the donation can be used to save up to three lives.
“Blood donations are so important because they save lives,” McGivney said. “It just takes us about 30 minutes to do it. If we
can take 30 minutes out of our day to save other people, multiple people, then I think that it is the least we can do.”
This was McGivney’s and Ledbetter’s first year being involved in the blood drive. Letbetter is a first-year nurse at OHS, and both faculty dove into their roles in order to make the annual blood drive possible once again.
“Coach McGivney and Nurse Ledbetter are both in new roles this year,” Dana Bullard, principal of Oxford High School, said. “I am proud that they were able to re-energize the annual Oxford High School blood donation. They worked very hard to collaborate with the team who came to the campus. This was a great way for students to help their community in need.”
