Buffalo beat out larger high schools to earn the award, their second one in about five years, Welch said. The school has 260 students, but blood donors must be at least 17, must weigh more than 110 pounds and must be in good health to meet the Red Cross guidelines. And athletes are out of the picture because coaches don't want them to donate blood if an after-school practice is scheduled. While the pool of potential student donors is slim, parents sometimes participate, and others from the community are invited to do so. It's not limited to just students.
Some parents come in.
National Honor Society president April Williams didn't donate blood in the fall because of basketball practice, but the senior is ready to roll up her sleeve on Friday. She's never given blood before, but she's not worried about the procedure. Some anxiety is perfectly normal, said Welch. Some are scared to give, and that's to be expected, but I really advise those who are afraid to go ahead and do it, and they do. They just challenge themselves to give.