By Kaila DeBeer
Staff Writer
In honor of Mark Vasquez, Manhattan Beach Police Officers hosted the 10th Annual Blood Drive on May 21 and 22 to collect blood donations for those in need.
Vasquez joined the MBPD in 2005, but was later diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma blood cancer in 2007 and had to resign. In recognition of Vasquez’s service, adults and Mira Costa students frequently volunteer to give blood at the annual drive.
“After they took my blood, I felt really good about donating,”Mira Costa Junior Hayden DeBeer said. “Knowing that my blood was going to help others excited me to return next time.”
The blood drive took place from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. at the Joslyn Center, which is located at 1601 Valley Drive. Individuals ages 16 and up were able to make blood donations. According to Costa freshman Zoey Oliver, the setup was welcoming and student-friendly, and she would choose to donate again.
“Finding the location of the blood drive was easy and made me want to donate more regularly. It was easily accessible and close to my house,” Oliver said.
Along with DeBeer and Oliver, other students from Mira Costa attended the drive at the Joslyn Center. According to Claypoole, Covid has made it difficult to schedule a date that will produce a large turnout of student donors.
“Normally [the drive] happens here on the campus and we have about 150 to 200 kid donors… and we normally yield about a hundred units of blood” Mira Costa ASB teacher Lisa Claypoole said.
Even with a record-breaking 74 pints of blood collected in one day in September’s blood drive, Claypoole aimed to collect more donations this year. Several individuals got deferred due to blood pressure and other tests, however, and were unable to donate blood.
“We had seventeen deferrals, which means seventeen people went in [and couldn’t donate blood]… which was a bummer” Claypoole said.
According to Claypoole, organizing a blood drive during a pandemic was difficult due to Covid regulations, like masks and distancing, and it was a challenge to find people who felt comfortable and willing to donate. According to Claypoole, some students didn’t want to risk the chance of getting COVID and chose to stay on the safe side, while about 150 students attended the drive.
“Getting people to sign up and go during the pandemic has been very difficult. [This] is why we haven’t been as successful as we have in the past” Ms. Claypoole said.
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