WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) – The need for blood in Wichita Falls prompted a local high school student to do something about it. Chaitanya Reddy, a student at Rider High School, took it upon himself to organize his first blood drive.
Reddy said this won’t be the last trip. It’s only the beginning.
Two months ago, just sixteen years old, Chaitanya Reddy noticed a problem in Wichita Falls’ medical supply.
“Due to the recent winter, lake storms, and transportation issues, the Texas Blood Institute that we are hosting all of this with, has released that they have a one-day supply of blood,”
Being the son of a doctor, Reddy also got a taste of how much this has affected the medical field.
“My father is a haematologist, so he deals a lot with blood, and so seeing him phoning from home about blood transfusions and him expressing frustrations with how difficult it is to get blood for his patients, that was a major contributing factor, Reddy said.
It was then that he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“He came to one of my offices and talked to my office staff and that’s how they came and did all the work and I just physically helped with a few things here and there,” Chaitanya’s father said, Dr. Praveen Reddy.
Reddy, a volunteer at the Wichita Falls Hospice, said volunteering has taught him the importance of giving back to the community in any way possible.
“What I’ve proven myself and what I’m really capable of when I’m able to develop my social skills, able to communicate with people and reach out to people really well, I really think it’s important that we teenagers contribute to the community who have given us so much both through our school district and through local events, I think it is very important that we get involved as well,” said Reddy.
With Wichita Falls being a Type 1 trauma center, Reddy believes having more blood supply will make our city more efficient and benefit anyone in need of blood.
“It’s our community and all the blood is going to stay in our community, so it’s just like a whole community circle,” Reddy said.
Seeing a need and taking action to give back to the same community that impacted it.
