Driving to save lives

PINE PLAINS — “I feel like it’s a good live-saving measure,†said Scott Chase, sitting down at a table and rummaging through an ice-cooler for a juice box. “And someday I may need it.â€

Chase was just one of the people who showed up at the Pine Plains firehouse to donate blood last Thursday, June 25. Jennifer Robinson-Knapp, who is with the Pine Plains Hose Company, started sponsoring the Red Cross’ visits  last year. She has and plans on continuing to hold three to four a year.

The goal is usually about 40 usable pints per event, and last June the number went up to 55, so Robinson-Knapp was happy and hopeful about the local turnout.

“We’re very thankful to the community,†she said. “We have a lot of repeat donors.â€

Christine Cardillo, who works for the Poughkeepsie branch of the Red Cross, explained that donations always drop during the summer, when people are away on vacation and have made other plans.

“We always like to have a three-day supply,†she said. “But in the summer it’s usually down to about a one-day supply. So yes, we always need donors.â€

Future blood drives are scheduled for Salt Point and Poughkeepsie in the near future, but more information on any local drives can be found by visiting donatebloodnow.org.

“It’s important [to donate] because there’s always people that need it,†Cardillo reiterated. “Every unit of blood saves two lives.â€

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