During the past school year, 15 Lee County high schools participated in the Lee Memorial Blood Center’s Eighth Annual High School Blood Drive Challenge. Each high school is eligible to earn scholarship dollars for blood collected, said Pat Dolce, a spokeswoman with Lee Memorial Health Systems.

Some 7,115 students, ages 16 and older, and faculty participated during their school’s blood drives and 5,410 units of blood were collected for the patients in the Lee Memorial Health System. Since a single unit of blood can save more than one life, more than 11,000 patients have benefitted from high school blood donations, Dolce said. Parents and relatives of students are also invited to participate.

Some high schools held as many as four blood drives during the school year. There are students who donate a gallon (8 units) of blood by the time they graduate high school. More than $54,500 in scholarship money is being awarded to seniors at these area high schools. This is an increase of $17,500 from last year. The two top schools are in the East Zone, she said.

“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 the community to help friends, neighbors and loved ones, she 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 Hospital as well as to the Regional Cancer Center, Dolce said.

The totals in scholarships for the participating high schools are: East Lee County, $7,000; Riverdale, $7,000; Cape Coral, $6,000; Gateway Charter, $6000; Ida Baker, $6,000; North Fort Myers, $6,000; and Cypress Lake, $4,000.