A blood drive was hosted Thursday, Jan 24, in an effort to give back to those who need it—but some students felt the drive was flawed.

Loyola decided to host a blood drive in order to follow through with the Jesuit principles of service by donating to those less fortunate than ourselves and aiding them in the corporal as well as spiritual sense. However, some students who participated in the blood drive had to step back and reconsider whether donating was the right choice or not based on their experiences.

Two juniors, Rachel Jalloway and Sean Mocny, spoke about their experiences with the blood drive. Both had eagerly made the decision to donate and looked forward to giving back to their community, but didn’t have a great time doing so.

    Both Sean and Rachel had less than great interactions with the staff members who guided them through the process of donating. Sean, who ended up not being able to donate for personal reasons, said that he felt uncomfortable when talking to a staff member who went through the mandatory questionnaire with him. “She was very judgy. When she was asking me these questions…she just had this expression on her face. I just felt a little judged.

Rachel spoke about how the person drawing her blood got confused while doing so, which would strike many as unprofessional and even worrisome. She also mentioned that the machine stopped working halfway through the process.

She included the fact that she had entered the gym at 12:50 pm, the beginning of fifth period, but wasn’t able to leave school until about 4:00 that afternoon. Why? It was all due to a lack of organization and poor planning. “The school could have made it a better/more effective experience,” she said.

When asked about their decision to donate blood in the first place, both felt that it was the right thing to do. They knew it was generous to give their extra blood to those who might be helped by their donations.

Rachel recognizes that while it was not necessary for Loyola to host the blood drive, she was glad they did so. Not many teens are able to donate at local parishes, and she felt that it was wonderful that Loyola was giving its students the opportunity to do so.

Regardless of the fact that they had valid complaints about the blood drive and the process behind it, neither of them regretted the experience or denied the fact that participating in the blood drive was a worthwhile experience. “[T]he endgame is a noble one—help[ing] save a life—so I’m not upset all too much about the experience.”