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High school kids roll up sleeves for a good fight

East side teens are an extremely giving bunch, as in blood. Riverview tops Florida schools; others jockey for honors.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published January 28, 2005

RIVERVIEW - Nothing gives Natalie Ross the willies like needles. The 117-pound high school senior barely weighs enough to donate blood. She has passed out three times trying.

But when the bloodmobile pulls into the parking lot at Riverview High, Ross steps right up to do her part. School bragging rights are at stake.

"We try to beat our own record," explains the 17-year-old, wearing an armband of pink gauze like a badge of honor after a recent blood drive.

Call it the new blood sport. High schools in east Hillsborough are competing to raise the largest number of blood donations. Their effort puts many adults to shame.

Riverview High generally produces more donors for Florida Blood Services than any other location in west Central Florida. Regional malls and office parks don't begin to compare.

But other regional high schools are competing for the title.

"We're out to beat Riverview," Durant High assistant principal Carl Green declares.

The spirited school rivalry doesn't stop with Riverview and Durant High, the two donation powerhouses. To the south, East Bay High ranks tops for midsized schools in west Central Florida. Brandon High's numbers aren't quite as high, but the school has won an award for effort.

Overall, east Hillsborough schools took home five of the eight awards presented last year to high schools by Florida Blood Services, Tampa Bay's top agency for blood.

Riverview High, the region's hands-down winner, ranked first in the state.

"I don't know if it's a community service attitude they have, or what it is," says Debbie Jones, territory manager for high schools in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties. "The schools on the east side of I-75 tend to be the higher schools."

Unlike athletic contests, the blood race is saving lives.

Florida Blood Services supplies 34 hospitals in Tampa Bay. Its current supply has dipped to critical lows. This week, the agency had less than two days' supplies for six of the eight blood types.

"They are into making a difference," says Celeste Sanchez, a Riverview teacher sponsoring student government, which organizes the blood drives. "That's why these kids are here."

Many regional students give a gallon of blood between their 17th birthdays and graduation from high school. From a health perspective, the school district's chief nurse says parents need not worry as long as students follow the guidelines of Florida Blood Services.

"The desire to get donors never exceeds the good practices," says Karen Brown, supervisor of health for Hillsborough.

On blood drive days, Riverview High parties.

Students heat up the grills and pump up music when the bloodmobiles roll onto campus. They sign up enough students in advance to fill five bloodmobiles all day.

"Everyone knows that giving blood isn't a fun thing to do, no matter how you slice it," says Nick Staszak, 18, a recent Riverview High graduate who helped to craft the strategy of making blood drive days fun. "If you can add other things, it's more entertaining."

Now a student at the University of South Florida, Staszak comes back to his high school and does his part to keep driving up the numbers. This month, Riverview High's blood drive netted 312 donors. The school raised 249 pints of blood for Florida Blood Services.

Senior Austin Roe didn't think twice about signing up for an afternoon time slot.

"Economics (class), or give blood? Hmmm . . ." Roe said, weighing options for the time he spent donating blood. The competition with other high schools helped seal the deal.

"It's kind of like bragging rights here."

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

To donate blood, a person must be 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds and be in good health. Pregnant women, people recovering from recent surgeries and anyone at risk of contracting HIV-AIDS should not donate. Donors must wait one year after getting a tattoo to give blood. The next major blood drive in east Hillsborough is Wednesday at Durant High, 4748 Cougar Path, Durant. Community members are welcome.

Riverview High: Five drives, 1,384 registered donors

Durant High: Four drives, 891 registered donors

East Bay High: Five drives, 445 registered donors

Brandon High: Four drives, 331 registered donors

Armwood High: Three drives, average 240 registered donors.

Source: Florida Blood Services. Bloomingdale and Newsome high schools work with a smaller blood services agency.

[Last modified January 27, 2005, 09:33:08]