Blood drive officials cite need for more donors Daylong drive nets 153 pints of life-giving liquid for community BY CHARLES W. KIM Staff Writer CHARLES W. KIM Harold Schneider of North Brunswick prepares to donate blood to the South Brunswick Community Blood Bank on Saturday. SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Despite warmer weather, the number of people who donated blood Saturday remained about the same. "We get about 138 pints of blood (per drive). That has been the average," South Brunswick Community Blood Bank director Sharon Samuels said Saturday. Last weekend’s drive at the Community Center on New Road came in above that average with 153 donors, according to the organization. "The public concern is not there. It is not an instant thought," Samuels said. According to Samuels, the number of donors increased dramatically for a short period after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. "We were swamped then, but only immediately. It trickled off after that," Samuels said. The lowest number of donors for a drive was about 118, he said. The organization has been collecting blood more than 35 years now, according to Samuels. The community drive was started by the Jaycees business club before becoming a separate nonprofit corporation. Samuels said that the organization sets a goal of about 250 donors per drive. One of the reasons that the drive does not bring in more donors is because of an increase in the number of drives taking place at various workplaces and hospitals, according to Samuels. "More and more companies are doing blood drives. There are more drives at county fairs, hospitals and churches," Samuels said. North Bruns-wick resident Harold Schneider, 60, said that he has lost count of the number of times he has given blood. "I’ve given at least 10 gallons," Schneider joked as he waited to give his pint. Schneider said that he donated blood for the first time in 1971. "I know there is a shortage. It makes me feel good. I feel like I am helping somebody," Schneider said. Schneider said that his father-in-law became ill with leukemia and needed to receive blood once every month. "It gave him two extra years [of life] because people gave blood," Schneider said. Schneider said that now he is the only family member who can donate. "I represent the family," Schneider said. Monmouth Junction resident Sajid Shaikh, 40, said that he gives blood to the drive each year. "Maybe it could save someone’s life," Shaikh said. Shaikh said that some people may be frightened to donate because of the false belief that donors can contract AIDS and other blood infections; others, however, are not really aware of the urgent need for donated blood. "I think they ignore it," Shaikh said. Shaikh said that even his wife worries about giving blood. "She worries that it won’t rejuvenate fast enough," Shaikh said. "Many generous Americans nationwide have been donating blood since the terrorist attacks on September 11 to ensure a sustained and secure blood supply for all Americans. Together with the Red Cross, these blood heroes are ensuring that the safest possible blood is readily available whenever and wherever needed — for the military, for other blood centers in America and for all 5,000 of America’s hospitals," the American Red Cross’s Internet site stated. According to the Red Cross, the liq­uid portion of the blood donated will be replaced by the body in a few hours and the actual blood cells within a few weeks. The organization’s next drive is scheduled for October.