Jackson Progress-Argus

Cordero Willis (left) and Matt Shadix (right) are donating red blood cells during the Red Cross blood drive at Jackson High School on Friday, Dec. 9.

Jackson — Travis Simmons sat Friday in the Jackson High School gym with his arm outstretched, and his hand clutching a piece of tape-wrapped gauze.

The 16-year-old student was donating blood -- with parental permission -- for the first time. He acknowledged that he was nervous, at first.

“Because I’d never done it before,” Simmons said. “But now that I’m doing it, I don’t feel anything now.”

Jodi Braswell, the high school’s advisor to the Health Occupations Students of America club, said 111 students had signed up for the one-day blood drive, which was being hosted Friday, Dec. 9 by HOSA and SkillsUSA. The donations were being collected by the American Red Cross.

Braswell said such events can be empowering for students, who are exercising their ability to donate blood for the first time, usually at the age of 17.

“This is the kids making a decision about what they’re going to do,” said Braswell, who added that HOSA students, engaged in healthcare-oriented career study, typically host three such blood drives a year.

Cordero Willis, a senior at Jackson High School, was donating red blood cells through a processing machine that returned plasma to his body. He said he felt like donating was the least he could do to give back to the community.

“Somebody out there needs it more than I do,” he said.

Aja Kee, who was operating the blood machine for the Red Cross, said red blood cell donation is a way to speed the product to those who need it, because it doesn’t have to be processed like whole blood does, though it can take 30 to 45 minutes per donation. “The product can be used a whole lot faster,” she said.

JoJo Kersey, president of the Jackson High School HOSA club, said the group spent about a week preparing for the blood drive, and that about 40 of the group’s members were on hand to help coordinate it Friday.

“The club relates to healthcare, and we figured this is one of the best ways to give back,” he said.