During the past school year, 14 high schools participated in the Lee Memorial Blood Centers Seventh Annual High School Blood Drive Challenge. The program has been revamped so that each high school is now eligible to earn scholarship dollars for blood collected, according to Pat Dolce, a spokesperson with Lee Memorial Health Systems.

Some 6,762 students, ages 16 and older, and faculty participated during their school’s blood drives and 4,319 units of blood were collected for the patients in the Lee Memorial Health System. Parents and relatives of students were also invited to participate.

Some high schools held as many as four blood drives during the school year. There were students who donated a gallon (8 units) of blood by the time they graduated high school, Dolce said. More than $37,000 in scholarship dollars is being awarded to seniors at these area high schools.

These young blood donors are very important to our community, Dolce said. By creating a fun and positive blood donation experience, these young donors will develop into lifetime donors.

“Every drop of blood collected on the Lee Memorial Bloodmobiles remains in our community to help friends, neighbors and loved ones,” Dolce said. Approximately 500 plus units of blood are needed each week to meet the growing demands for blood. The Lee Memorial Blood Centers also supply blood and blood products to the Level II Trauma Center at Lee Memorial as well as to the new Regional Cancer Center.

The totals for the participating schools in the East Zone are:

East Lee County High School, units collected, 476 with scholarships of $4,000 given.

Gateway Charter High School, 335 units given with $2,600 in scholarships awarded. Riverdale High School, 499 units given with $4,000 in scholarships awarded.