by Jesus Biag, co-Editor-in-Chief

Last Thursday, September 19th, St. John Bosco High School partnered with Cedars-Sinai Hospital to organize the first of at least two blood drives this school year. 

Due to turnover in Bosco’s Campus Ministry, Ms. Jen Schnorr, Vice Principal of Student Affairs, stepped up this year to help coordinate the blood drive with the hospital. In years past, assisting in coordinating the blood drive was a role reserved for the school’s Coordinator of Youth Ministry (CYM). 

Working closely with Ms. Schnorr and helping her along the way, however, was Ms. Darlene Garcia, Cedars-Sinai’s Blood Drive Coordinator, who has coordinated the blood drive at Bosco since 2016.

Ms. Garcia’s connection with the school stems back to her two sons, Sammy, Class of 2019, and Emilio, Class of 2022. Both of them were heavily involved in Bosco’s baseball program—and still actively participate in the sport today.

Her close relationship with Bosco makes organizing the blood drive at the school all the more rewarding.

“I feel so incredibly blessed to work in a field where I get to make a difference in so many people’s lives,” said Ms. Garcia. “I’m honored to partner with the Bosco family to help save [those] lives.”

Donors last Thursday gave blood in the multi-purpose room (MPR) from roughly 8:00 am to a little past 2:00 pm. For participating, they were given a gift card to In-N-Out and a free t-shirt.

Students that wished to donate needed to be at least 110 pounds, 17 years old and in good health. A 16-year-old student would still be able to donate if they had signed parent consent and weighed at least 135 pounds.

One of the Braves that donated blood was senior Jaden Wright, a member of the baseball team. This being his first time giving blood, Jaden had some concerns as he was donating.

“Walking in here, I wasn’t scared. But when I sat down, I got a little nervous. [I] had to hit a little prayer real quick,” Jaden said. “In the middle [of the process], I really wasn’t worried too much.”

Jaden credits the staff drawing his blood, who took good care of him and were extremely patient and encouraging, for calming his fears.

Another first time donor, who didn’t have quite as many fears, was Mr. Albert Soliguen, new Biology and Environmental Science teacher. Donating blood was incredibly moving, as it allowed him to recognize his own personal blessings.

“It felt great [to donate]. I’m grateful for my own life and the people around me. [Those things] drove me to come out today and donate blood,” said Mr. Soliguen.

The whole experience was rewarding for Mr. Soliguen, who said with confidence that we would donate again. 

People from around the community, such as Mr. Raul Vallejo, a staple at St. Dominic Savio’s church, where the Braves go for school Mass, also came to donate blood.

Although last Thursday was his first time donating blood at Bosco, he’s participated in several blood drives organized by Cedars-Sinai at Savio, where he serves as a lector and eucharistic minister. Mr. Vallejo’s primary motivation to donate blood was to make a difference in the lives of those in need.

“I wanted to donate because I know that there’s a need for blood,” Mr. Vallejo said. “[I feel] like I’m doing something good for whoever needs it.”

Mr. Vallejo and all of those who donated blood last Thursday made huge differences. According to Ms. Garcia, while 38% of the American population is eligible to give blood, only 2% of Americans actually go out and donate.

The blood given to Cedars-Sinai will be used for anyone who needs a transfusion. Reasons for needing a blood transfusion vary, but people need it for trauma care in the case of an accident, cancer treatments or surgery. At the hospital, they use over 60,000 blood products a year, primarily using them during organ transplants. 

This year, the Fall Blood Drive saw 30 people participate and provide 27 pints of blood, which was within range of their post-COVID-19 standards. Comparing it to the two blood drives held during the 2023-2024 school year, which saw a combined total of 60 donors and 51 pints of blood collected, Bosco is on track to donate more blood and save more lives than last year.

Ms. Garcia and Cedars-Sinai will be at St. Joseph’s High School, Bosco’s sister school, for the first time on October 24th. Bosco’s Spring Blood Drive is set to take place on Thursday, March 27th, 2025.