News and Events

New Castle, DE - On Tuesday, February 28, students and staff from William Penn High School hope to continue their record-breaking streak by holding the largest one-day high school blood drive on Delmarva for the sixth year in a row. The blood drive will run from 7:30am to 3:30pm in the school's gymnasium.

William Penn is one of 70 high schools in Blood Bank of Delmarva's School Blood Drive Program. Last year, there were 188 donors drawn at the annual February drive, more than doubling the results of any other high school blood drive in the program. Mary Beth Kessler, the librarian at William Penn, has helped coordinate the event for 26 years.

"Every year, I am amazed at the enthusiasm of the student donors. Their willingness to donate blood makes me so very proud of all of them," said Kessler. "They are the best young people one would ever want to meet. In my opinion, no student body can outshine the William Penn blood donors!"

Last school year, a total of 7,774 units of blood were collected at 130 school blood drives from September 2010 to May 2011, a 3% increase from the previous school year. By providing a positive, first-time experience giving blood, the Blood Bank hopes to establish a relationship with young donors that will last a lifetime.

The School Blood Drive Program provides 11% of the blood supply on Delmarva. The program started in 1984 with just 140 donations at two schools.

BLOOD DRIVE FACTS:

WHEN:
Tuesday, February 28 - 7:30am-3:30pm (Media interviews from 11am-1pm)

WHERE:
William Penn High School (Gymnasium)
713 East Basin Road, New Castle, DE 19720

"I made my first blood donation in December of 1963 and have been a regular donor since then. I always thought that someone else would need my donation, not my family, until two years ago when my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. During aggressive chemo treatments, she became anemic and needed six pints of blood in three separate transfusions. She is A-, so I'm particularly grateful to those donors. I'm A+ and only able to match the number of donations she's used. I think donating blood is the easiest thing in the world to do. There's no substitute for blood. Donors save lives - it's that simple. Just as my own father did many years ago, I've encouraged all four of my children to donate blood. I hope my story will encourage others to get involved too."
- Al Kastner, Blood Bank member and donor from Berlin, MD

Join Al in the lifesaving act of giving blood. Make an appointment today!

Blood Bank member Joe McDonough has become one of only 13 people in the world to be inducted into the 2011 Fenwal Blood Donation Hall of Fame. Inductees, who span the globe from Canada to China, were chosen based on their demonstrated commitment to and passion for donating blood.

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