Saving Lives

Monday, 11th March 2024 at 2:30pm

Green Bay High School students are (literally) saving lives!

As part of the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) mobile blood drive, over 100 students and staff volunteered to part with their plasma earlier this week, donating blood and providing a valuable and worthwhile contribution to their community.

The Care of Children Act 2004 allows people 16 years and over to make their own decisions about whether or not they wish to give blood.

As published in several of our weekly school newsletters leading up to the event (23 February, and 1 March) NZBS recommended that students discuss becoming a blood donor with their family. Families who had a particular objection to the student choosing to donate blood were advised to make this known to the student and to Elaine Webb Deputy Principal before the start of the blood drive.

Blood donations are separated into different components and used to treat a variety of patients - including accident trauma, patients undergoing surgery, people with leukaemia, transplant patients and many others. Blood products are also used for immunisation to help prevent hepatitis A and B, tetanus and chickenpox.