Local News in Brief : Blood Donations Decline
The American Red Cross collected 750 pints of blood during the weekend’s annual “Save-a-Life-Sunday” campaign in the Los Angeles area, about 100 pints less than last year and a little more than half 1981’s record of 1,322 pints, Red Cross officials said Monday.
“We don’t know why it’s down,” said Gerry Sohle, a Red Cross spokeswoman in Los Angeles.
“There’s been a slight downward trend in recent years,” she said. “This time? It could be the weather. You never know.”
The annual campaign, launched in 1963, is conducted at Christmastime because donations normally are down at this time of year, Sohle said, noting, “There’s always a problem with two holidays--Christmas and New Year’s--running back to back.”
Sunday’s drive was conducted at 15 Los Angeles-area churches and at 13 “fixed sites” used repeatedly by the Red Cross for blood drives, Sohle said. The largest amount--130 pints--was donated at the Santa Clarita Valley Service Center in Valencia.
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