On October 5^th I had was able to go with Carly to the Morristown memorial Hospital to volunteer with her as a courier! It was truly remarkable what responsibilities they gave us to cover! We were able to take blood to necessary rooms, deliver lab specimens from the blood care center, and deliver flowers to patients all over the hospital. From the intensive care unit to the blood bank I was able to witness all types of biology!

From B positive to O positive I was able to go to the blood bank then take the blood to the room it was being sent to for a blood transfer or other uses. The blood was kept in cool cabinets and organized very neatly so no accidents could happen. I gave them a form of the person that needed blood, their blood type, and the patient number and blood number. After the blood bank doctor retrieved the blood he read the numbers twice so I made sure that it was the right blood and type. From here he put the blood in a bag and told Carly and me to make sure we got the blood to the room in the next twenty minutes so the blood stays cool. When I asked him why the blood has to stay cool, he said it was because the blood must be kept cold in order to reduce bacterial contamination and to prolong its life. I thought this process was very interesting. When we arrived at the bloods final destination – the patient was relieved it had come so quickly because she had lost so much blood in a leg surgery. We delivered almost six packets of blood today! It was awesome.

Another set of instructions we were given was to go to the out care patient center and pick up blood samples for the central lab. There were four tubes of blood from four different patients clearly marked and ready to be tested. I asked the nurse and lab specialist what they were testing the blood for but they said this information is confidential. However, he told me that they usually look for anything special that the blood contains to either look for a cure, other diseases and so on. I thought this information was very interesting and he told me that he went to college for ten years to become in this field!

Overall, I had a great time volunteering and helping other at the hospital. I learned many interesting facts about biology and blood and look forward to using this information to better understand biology!