Helping Hands, Saving Lives
Our PYP5/6 Blood Drive
Reporters: PYP5/6 Students
On Friday, October 10th, the PYP5/6 students of Medan Independent School hosted a blood donation drive in their classroom. The company we worked with is called Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI). The purpose of this drive is to help save lives and raise awareness of the importance of donating blood.
Our class is learning about cellular systems of the human body. In this unit we are exploring the systems of the body, and how they all work together in harmony. We prepared for the blood drive by making cards, running through our “care plan” for the donors, and trying to make the classroom as comfortable as possible. We also had people who made snacks and drinks for the donors to ensure their blood sugar would be back to normal after their donation. One of the exciting activities we were able to do is have our blood tested to find out what our blood type is. We had fun finding out who had the same blood types as us and which types were more common or rare.
We were very lucky to have a lot of people come to our event! The MIS community: staff, teachers, friends, and parents and even people outside of school came to donate blood. The blood donors were sometimes happy or scared to donate blood. The people who donated blood were adults and one student who was 17 years old. At the event, there were nurses, parents and organization workers. The PYP5/6 students greeted guests and gave them information about the process. Before the event, the students wrote some thank you cards to donors and some thank you notes on the whiteboard since the event was in our classroom.
Below are some quotes from our donors:
Question: Does it hurt when you donate blood?
Answer: No. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels a bit weird. (Nicolas’s Mom, Lisa)
Question: How did you feel when you first donated?
Answer: I felt happy because I knew it was for a good cause. (Mr. Ryan)
Question: Does it hurt?
Answer: It doesn’t really hurt, you should try someday. (Serene’s Mom, Sri)
Question: Do you feel nervous?
Answer: I am a little nervous. (Mr. G)
Question: Does it hurt?
Answer: No, it’s just a small pinch. (Ms.Suci)
Thirty three people tried to donate, but only 24 donors could give blood. Some people couldn’t donate because of their weight, or their iron was too high or too low. In the end, we used teamwork skills and helped our patients stay comfortable. One interesting fact we learnt is that one blood donation can save up to three lives!
In conclusion, we hope the donors will donate again if they want to. One thing we might change is to send invitations to family and friends for the blood drive and give our guests a snack like a candy bar, banana, or apple juice before they donate. Our class hopes that family, teachers and friends learn that they save other people’s lives and give them another chance to live. We hope that everyone enjoyed the blood drive donation event.
