By Lillian BOODAGHIANS

On July 17, the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station hosted a blood drive to support Huntington Memorial Hospital, the only Level 2 trauma center in the vicinity. Level 2 trauma centers have trauma specialists on site at all times and deal with serious cases of injury, included victims of car crash, gun shot wounds, and other life threatening injuries, making blood drives like this one highly important.

The blood drive, which is a yearly event, is particularly crucial in the summer months when people are on vacation, schools are out of session and there are generally fewer donors regularly giving blood to the hospital, said Deputy Jorge Valdivia.

With nurses on site all day with the bloodmobile in the station’s public parking area, the hospital was able to collect 21 units of blood, which can help up to 25 patients. While noting that 21 units is low when compared to previous years (donations usually range from 25 to 30 units), Jackie Baca-Geary, a representative from the Blood Donor Center at the Huntington Memorial Hospital, said that in situations with emergency blood shortages, any donation matters.

  Lillian BOODAGHIANS