LifeServe Blood Center is honoring a total of 274 seniors 2014 Gallon Grads. The everyday heroes include four Greene County graduates: Gabe Bardole, Kyle Bettey, Crystal McEntire and Camron Roath.
The Gallon Grad program encourages high school students ages 16 and older to donate one gallon of blood before graduating from high school. This year’s 274 Gallon Grads come from 56 counties in the LifeServe Blood Center tri-state region of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota were recognized with this honor.
In order to become a Gallon Grad, students had to make eight whole blood or four double red cell blood donations before graduation. Achieving this milestone required a large commitment from these students, who took time from their busy schedules to make blood donations at their local high school blood drives and at blood drives that took place within the community.
“People who begin donating blood at a young age often build a life-long habit of making life-saving blood donations,” a LifeServe spokesperson said. “By understanding the importance of donating blood now, they are likely to continue donating blood in the future, which will help to maintain a stable blood supply.”
