More than 40 Palmerton Area High School students donated blood Tuesday during a drive for Miller-Keystone Blood Center, breaking a participation record.

Alex Knoll, Palmerton high school teacher and staff coordinator of the event, said 43 students had registered as of Tuesday morning.

“That blows out any sort of record we had before,” Knoll said. “The turnout is awesome and it shows just how great our Palmerton students are. The kids are energetic about giving back and they value the local community a lot.”

Prior to COVID-19 affecting school schedules and activities, Palmerton hosted two blood drives per year. They were organized by longtime physical education teacher Carol Andrews, who recently retired.

“I was glad to take it over and work in conjunction with Jeana Baumgardt, our National Honor Society adviser, as the NHS kids basically run the whole thing from start to finish,” Knoll said.

One of those students, Riley Fallon, said he and his classmates put up posters around the school and made announcements about the event. He and other volunteers took one-hour shifts Tuesday to make sure everything ran smoothly.

“It makes me really happy to see the turnout today,” Fallon said. “When you see everyone willing to give back to the community, it just puts a smile on your face.”

Blood donated to Miller-Keystone Blood Center stays local, its representatives said. Red blood cells, they added, can only be stored for up to 42 days, making the need for a steady, ongoing stream of donors critical to the health and welfare of a community.

“There are many people in desperate need of blood and what we’re doing here today gives to those in need,” Fallon said. “The community has given to us and put Palmerton in a great place with its academics and extra-curriculars so when we get the chance to give back to them, it means a lot.”

Both Knoll and Palmerton’s students are happy to see the event back and hope more successful drives can be scheduled in the future.

“It’s great to be able to do this again,” Knoll said. “We were not able to the last couple of years, but the kids wanted to bring it back and they were really excited. They did a great job.”