A Transition Year YSI project
This year, the Convent of Mercy, Roscommon Transition Year Young YSI Class is doing a project entitled ‘It’s About Bloody Time’, which is focused on the social issue of blood donation.
YSI is a secondary school student-based programme which aims to help students make positive change in the world.
The YSI class kicked off the project with a very successful bake sale on October 26th which raised €300 for the Blood Bikers, a non-profit organisation in which people volunteer to drive blood units, platelets and other important medical components from healthcare facility to healthcare facility.
Following that, as part of the ‘Give the gift of blood this Christmas’ effort, the class held an information event in Roscommon town on December 13th where they set up three stalls at two locations – Spirit Kids and SuperValu – and handed out leaflets to raise awareness about the upcoming mobile blood donation clinic that is taking place on the 18th, 19th and the 20th of December, in the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon town.
Roscommon, according to a recent report by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, has the lowest number of people donating in Ireland, with 23.65 donors per thousand people. These figures are exceptionally poor and way behind Cavan’s statistics, with 60 donors per thousand people. Even though a large number of the population can donate blood, only 3% of the eligible donor pool donates blood. You can donate blood provided that you: are over 18 years of age, weigh more than 50 kg and less than 130 kg, are not pregnant/haven’t been pregnant in a year, if you haven’t received a blood transfusion since 1980, if you haven’t gotten a tattoo/piercing in the past four months and if you haven’t had a surgical procedure in the past six months
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service offers a quiz on their website that you can take before donation to see if you are eligible. The class has an Instagram page which you can keep up with their fundraising and donation efforts – follow them at @itsaboutbloodytimeysi.
