A blood drive in honor of Alumni Tiffany Torres will be held on Saturday, December 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mililani High School. The blood drive will fulfill Torres’ wish to save lives, a mission carried out by her mother, Denise Torres, after Tiffany Torres passed away in a car accident.  The event, endorsed by the Blood Bank of Hawaii, was an idea that Denise Torres had shortly after her daughter’s passing.

“This event is, as I mentioned, very important to me because of the vision that my daughter had, to save lives by donating her body to science, and I can do this blood drive in her honor and save lives. It’s very important to me,” said Torres.

Denise Torres was surrounded by others who had lost children, and one of their families had decided to donate their child’s organs to save lives.  This was a sentiment that Tiffany Torres had shared as well.  While on a trip to Chicago, Denise Torres received news that her daughter was involved in a car accident.  Her body was severely injured and was unable to be used to help others.  Three years later, Denise Torres, wanting to honor her daughter’s wishes, had an idea to coordinate a blood drive in her name.

“I was very emotional, I wanted to, it just came to me, like something that came naturally, that this is what I wanna do. So it was a very emotional time for me, even talking to the blood bank representative because I get emotional in general when it comes to my daughter, but knowing that if I can see this vision through and give her vision and her honor, it’s very emotional for me,” said Denise Torres.

Denise Torres called the Blood Bank of Hawaii, wanting to organize a blood drive at either Mililani Waena or Mililani High School, as they were both schools where her daughter had previously graduated.   Upon further planning, it was decided that MHS would be chosen as the location for the blood drive.  Due to the circumstances of her daughter’s passing, Denise Torres developed a fear of truck drivers. Moving forward, Denise Torres specifically invited them to the event, asking for their forgiveness, as she felt it wasn’t fair to blame them.

“I told my granddaughter that—she’s now in college—that I’m gonna do what Mom wanted, and she’s like what, and I went, I’m gonna have people donate blood.  I’m gonna have people donate blood so that they can help somebody else,” said Torres.

For more information regarding the upcoming event, Club Advisor Stephanie Grande-Misaki can be reached in room N102, or at [email protected].  To learn more about other blood drives available, go to the Blood Bank of Hawaii website at https://www.bbh.org/.