By Ryan Haymaker — ¨Scariest moment of my life, but after it was over I never felt better,¨ Nate Neading said when speaking about his very first blood drive nearly two years ago.

This year Student Council will be hosting another blood drive on Nov. 24. from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside the auxiliary gym.

The blood drive will be sponsored by LifeShare Community Blood Services. LifeShare is the primary source of blood supply for patients treated in Stark County, and is a major supplier for other counties in Ohio. There are many different people that need the blood donated. Some of these people are cancer and leukemia patients, people with premature births, people in automotive accidents, and patients that need surgery or transplant operations.

¨It is very important that we get as many people as possible to sign up and donate their blood,¨ student council president said. ¨We are looking for at least 40 people to sign up for the blood drive.¨

Sign ups for the blood drive are during school start Nov. 5 and end Nov 15. Two volunteers are needed for the front desk and at least four are needed to guide the donors to the auxiliary gym. Every individual donation can save or sustain up to four people in need for blood. LifeShare is in low supply of three types of blood, O-, B-, and B+.

¨There are many requirements that need to be met in order to donate your blood,¨ Paula. Hinchcliff said.

Some of these requirements deal with age, weight, and even when the last time you donated was. The blood donor needs to be at least 17, unless they have parental permission then the age lowers to 16. The donor must weigh at least 110 pounds in order to donate. How often a person donates blood depends on the type of their donation. If the donor gives whole blood then it is safe to give blood every 56 days. If the donor gives double red blood then they are required to wait 112 days after their last donation.

¨The worst part is when I had anxiety before the blood drive,¨ Neading said.

They have the same routine for every donor and most people say that it does not hurt at all. Before a person donates their blood, they have to show an ID and answer questions that are asked to ensure that the donor is healthy enough to donate. They then take a few tests to make sure that the donor is ready to give blood. After that, they take the donor to a comfortable chair and clean their arm with antiseptic. Then very carefully they will place a small needle into the donor’s arm. The bloodwork takes about 10 minutes. After the bloodwork is done they will ask the donor to rest and enjoy refreshments another 10 to 15 minutes.

[Updated Aug. 12, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]