For every blood drive the NHS hosts, there is a different shirt theme. Last semester the theme was moustaches, and the previous year it was the “Keep Calm and…” slogan. This semester the theme was one of the more popular shows of 2013, Duck Dynasty.

    “It was cool how both shirts this year had a theme around facial hair,” junior Marissa Jones said. “As weird as that sounds, I still liked that they kept to a theme.”

    However, the sole purpose of a blood drive isn’t to get a shirt. For every one pint of blood that a student gives, they are saving three lives, or six infants. Students also have the choice to give double, which really just separates the plasma from the red blood cells. Giving blood is voluntarily and completely left to the students’ discretion.

    “I have a severe phobia of needles,” senior Morgan Altom said. “But I still feel like I need to give, because I know I would want someone to give for me if I needed it.”

    Blood drives are a way that the students can give back to their community. Whether the student gives for the purpose of a shirt or to save lives, they are helping those who are in need of a few extra red blood cells.

    “I think the blood drives really help students feel significant,” sophomore Logan Freeman said. “By giving blood, there are helping someone who will never even know their name, but they still want to help.”