AUGUSTA, Ga.– The local blood supply remains very low and donations are critically needed as the pandemic continues. Medical experts say it’s safe to donate blood and some Aiken County students are working to find solutions.
“This is not just the brainchild of myself but a special group of teachers here at Schofield sat down and came up with the idea to basically give back to the community,” said Schofield Middle School science teacher Keith Campbell.
For the past several weeks, Campbell and his students have been digging deeper into the blood shortage.
Campbell said, “Very, very intrigued by the whole aspect of learning with using a problem. So instead of having the curriculum just thrown at them, here solve a problem that was actually in their community.”
Under the problem-based teaching method, Campbell and his students studied blood types in their school and how convalescent plasma could be a benefit for COVID-19 patients.
“They start with a problem they find. Then we structure the research for how to analyze that problem. And then the students actually developed a hypothesis as to why the problem occurs and to find a solution,” said Principal Scott Floyd.
The middle schoolers decided to host a blood drive at their school to pump up the local blood supply numbers.
“I wanted to be the first, but I was the second. One of my teachers beat me to the punch to donate blood but it was a great experience. And I just feel better knowing that I can contribute to save lives. And as well as to support problem-based learning of our Schofield students,” said Floyd.
It takes about 20 minutes to donate blood with Shepeard Community Blood and all of the blood collected is used to treat people in the CSRA.
Campbell said, “What we’ve learned, what we lean, that convalescent plasma does help in treating COVID-19 patients but at an early stage.”
“We encourage them to be active in their community and we encourage them to be activists in their community for the causes they believe in to make the world a better place,” said Floyd.
Campbell added, “It’s really good to see your ideas coming to life and this is one of the opportunities we were blessed to see this happen.”
