This Thursday the Rhode Island Blood Center will hold its annual awards ceremony to celebrate the state’s “High School Heroes.”

The blood center will present 19 awards in 9 categories to the high schools in Rhode Island that rank in the top tier of participation in life-saving blood drives at their schools.

In 2015, eight percent of the state’s blood supply came from high school blood drives, both public and private schools. That equates to 6,446 donations, and since one blood donation can help save as many as three lives, it also means these schools may have helped save as many as 19,333 people who needed blood. This is only possible with the support of student donors, their parents, the administration and faculty of the schools.

“The fact is that these young adults who learn about, participate in and engage in donating blood early on when they become eligible to donate are the future of our blood supply," said Eric St. Peter, Public Relations Coordinator, at RIBC. “Around 375,000 people in Rhode Island are eligible to donate blood, and only about 5 percent of the population donates each year. That number needs to begin to grow." While there is no upper age limit to donating blood, those who start giving young and become regular blood donors are critical to ensuring the future of the blood supply.

High schools that will be receiving awards are Bishop Hendricken High School, Blackstone Academy Charter School, Block Island School, Central High School, Coventry High School, Cumberland High School, Davies High School, Exeter-West Greenwich Senior High School, The Greene School, Johnston High School, St. Andrew's School, Middletown High School, North Kingstown High School, North Smithfield High School, Portsmouth High School, Westerly High School, West Warwick High School, Woonsocket Area Career & Tech Center, Woonsocket High School

The event will be held at Dave & Buster’s at Providence Place in Providence from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will also feature guest speaker Melissa Murray of the Dorian J. Murray Foundation. Known throughout the world as #DStrong, Dorian received countless blood transfusions for years while battling cancer. All of those were from Rhode Island Blood Center blood donors.