Potomac Falls High School students, staff, and community members rolled up their sleeves and came together to save lives while competing in the friendly Battle of Sterling Blood Drive.
The anticipation of a shot, an experience many dread, was shared by over 50 Potomac Falls High School (PFHS) students and staff on Jan. 16 as they participated in the Battle of Sterling Blood Drive.
The blood drive was proposed by PFHS Student Assistance Specialist Heather Bohon, whose son Alfie spent his first 44 days as a newborn on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) life support in Inova Fairfax. He required blood from more than 80 donors to survive, as his heart struggled to pump enough blood.
The extent of Alfie’s condition was severe, as he was on ECMO life support for a record amount of time.
Since Alfie’s recovery, Bohon has been dedicated to giving back to the community that helped save her son’s life. “To me, it’s super important,” Bohon said. “We were so incredibly lucky to have seamless access to 88 donors worth of blood to keep our brand-new baby alive. It’s always been very important for us to try and get that back to another family.”
Alfie’s early experiences shaped Bohon’s perspective. “Anything doesn’t really bother me anymore because he’s been through the worst. And I watched his little body go through all these things, and now he’s the happiest, most go-lucky little kid. If he can go through that and still be happy, I can handle almost anything,” she said.
Bohon worked with school administration to bring a blood drive to PFHS, which hadn’t had one since before COVID. She reached out to the blood bank when supplies were low, and the school’s staff supported the effort, organizing logistics and encouraging students to participate.
One of the efforts to encourage participation was that the drive was scheduled as part of the Battle of Sterling, a friendly competition between PFHS and Dominion High School, in which every donation counted toward the school’s total.
More than 50 students, staff, and volunteers donated blood that day, and additional participants were added to a waitlist due to high demand. “It was just really cool to see people show up for a little guy they don’t know to give something so uncomfortable. Watching students overcome their fear to donate was incredibly touching,” said Bohon.
In the end, PFHS won the Battle of Sterling, but together, the schools donated 112-units of blood including 88 units of whole blood and 24 units of red cells. Alfie, now a thriving four-year- old Lil’ Panther in the Potomac Falls preschool, serves as a living reminder of how critical blood donations can be.