Long Island Blood Services reported a healthy turnout for its blood drive Tuesday, well above the average volume of donors usually seen at the drives, which occur four times per year in Riverhead.
As the event drew to a close, 117 people had showed up to donate. That’s significantly more than the usual 70 to 80, according to an LIBS volunteer. She said many of the donors are regulars, and a large percentage are local firefighters and town employees.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone issued a plea for blood donations earlier this month, saying that the county’s blood supply was at a critically low level.
“There’s always a shortage. We’re always just making it,” the LIBS volunteer said.
Yesterday evening, donor Barbara Wooten sat on a gurney with her arm outstretched as a worker bustled from person to person. She said she responded to a notice from the Riverhead Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, of which she is a member.
“I started giving blood nine years ago, after the Heidi Behr accident,” she said, referring to the tragic ambulance crash that took the lives of two Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps EMTs, Heidi Behr and William Stone.
Photo caption: Donor Barbara Wooten giving blood last night.
RiverheadLOCAL photo by Micah Danney
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