American Red Cross worker Scott Moore prepares to draw blood from Apollo High School student Hanna Pierskalla during a blood drive at the school in St. Cloud, Minn., Wednesday, March 20, 2014. The annual drive is organized by the Apollo Student Union. The number of 16-year-old blood donors in Minnesota has risen steadily since state law was changed in 2008 to allow their participation. Teens are a key demographic in blood donations, Minnesota Red Cross communications program manager Sue Thesenga said. "Twenty percent of our blood donations come to us from high school and college students in the academic year," she said. The number of participating 16-year-olds in Minnesota has grown from 3,700 donors in the 2009 fiscal year to 5,000 during the 2013 fiscal year. Thesenga estimates that 16-year-olds can now give blood with parental consent in 45 states. When the law was passed in Minnesota in 2008, that number was closer to 25. (AP Photo/The St. Cloud Times, Dave Schwarz) NO SALES
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