The biannual Vitalant Blood Drive will take place tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. through 2 p.m. Latin students and faculty can donate in 50-minute sessions, with one donation able to provide aid to up to three people in need of blood.

Director of Student Life Tim Cronister organizes the drive each semester, with day-of support from Facilities and Latin’s Parent Association. He emphasized the importance of the event to Latin’s service learning goals. “There’s no easier way to give than to give blood,” he said.

For some Latin community members, donating blood isn’t just about serving communities in need—it’s personal. Upper School English teacher Ann McGlinn, for example, discovered firsthand the need for donated blood as she struggled with severe ulcerative colitis while studying in a creative writing graduate program at the University of Montana.

“I was studying what I wanted, I was teaching undergraduates, I had this whole slew of new friends, I was hiking, and I was living the best life,” she said. “But I was getting—my colitis was getting—progressively worse.”

When her colitis became particularly acute, donated blood helped save her life.

“My friends packed me into their car and drove me to the hospital, where I was given my first blood transfusion,” she said.

Over the next several months, Ms. McGlinn had surgery to remove her colon In the process, several more transfusions facilitated her recovery and, eventually, helped restore her quality of life.

“Probably before I should have, I was back mountain biking, I was doing everything, I was skiing,” she said.

Decades later, Ms. McGlinn encourages Latin community members to donate blood whenever they can, especially through opportunities such as tomorrow’s drive.

Indeed, inspired by stories like Ms. McGlinn’s, senior Connor Kernan donated blood at previous Vitalant drives and now tries to assuage nerves surrounding the process.

“My mom motivates me to donate blood, and I’ve also talked to people like Ms. McGlinn who’s had a blood transfusion,” he said. “It’s really not a painful experience, and for me, it’s been really easy and simple.”

Mr. Cronister also started donating blood when he was young, beginning in his 20s. He described the importance of blood donation that he’s discovered personally: “stepping outside of yourself a bit and realizing that there’s some people who have diseases or there are people who have been in accidents.”

Ms. McGlinn hopes that all community members will consider registering for the drive tomorrow. She said, “I just think it’s really important for those people who are able to give it a shot.”