A blood drive at First Presbyterian Church in Wadesboro collected 20 pints of blood Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the drive fell far short of its goal, 40 pints. Each donor gives one pint of blood.

Drives are typically supported by regular donors, who give blood whenever there is a nearby drive and the alloted time between donations has expired.

One of those regulars was Earl Huntley of Lilesville, who donated on his birthday. He passed up the crackers offered to donors because he was headed for the birthday dinner offered by his mother.

"I try to come each time," he said. "I almost forgot it today."

A surge of people leaving work doubled the number of donors in the last two hours of the drive. As of 4:15 p.m., only 10 people had given blood. The drive was from 1:30-6 p.m.

"We've had nobody in the last hour," Judy Duston, director of blood services for the Union County chapter of the Red Cross, said at the time. Nurses sat around talking to each other, waiting for donors to arrive.

Duston said the routine drives at the church were less successful than other areas.

"If we keep having the numbers we're having, we're going to have to do something about it," she said. Duston said the decision was not up to her.

The staff for the drive come from Charlotte.

Asked why the drives in Wadesboro so rarely meet their goals, she speculated it might be due to the economy in this area.

A pint of blood can be used to save up to three lives, by separating it into three parts: the platelets, plasma and red blood cells.

The need for blood is dire and routine. A person in an automobile accident may need up to 100 pints of blood while a heart surgery might require 10 pints.

The Red Cross holds a blood drive at the church most months. The next blood drive, sponsored by the Wadesboro Civitans, will be held at the church Jan. 20, 2010 from 1:30-6 p.m.

For more information about donating blood, contact the Red Cross at 704-694-3514.