Dear Families,

On Friday, March 26, International High School will be hosting a Blood Drive in MPR 5 (Room 539) from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The drive is being organized by the student members of the Community Service Steering Committee.

Blood donations are desperately needed in order to save lives, and I urge any of you who are able to give blood that day to drop by the school to do so. There are many restrictions on giving blood set by the FDA which affect various members of our school community, so please read the attachment (in the "downloads" section) to make sure you are eligible to donate (for example, anyone who has spent a cumulative total of 5 years or more in a European country since 1980 is ineligible).

In the past, members of our school community have protested against the fact that gay or bisexual men are barred from giving blood, and I would like to clarify that this restriction is the result of a regulation passed by the FDA in the early 1980s. Blood Centers of the Pacific, the local blood bank we partner with in our annual blood drive, does not support this regulation. In fact, they were the first blood bank in the country to formally urge the FDA to revise its policy.

As was the case last year, following a suggestion made by Head of School Jane Camblin, there will be a petition in MPR5 during the blood drive urging the FDA to change its policy regarding certain members of the LGBT community. Students, faculty, staff and parents are invited to sign the petition, which will be sent to the FDA along with a cover letter from Blood Centers of the Pacific (see attachment in "downloads" section).

If you are eligible and able to donate blood at school on March 26, please let me know when you would like to come (there are slots available at fifteen-minute intervals). You may also drop by school and sign up yourself in Anne-Marie’s office in Room 533 on the 5th floor. If you are not eligible to donate blood but would like to volunteer during the blood drive, please contact me.

Sincerely yours,

Elizabeth Cleere

Community Service & CAS Coordinator

International High School

elizabethc@internationalsf.org

415-558-2071