Hard work from local citizens helped make the latest Red Cross blood drive an overwhelming success.

"It was all due to the Civitan Club," said Judy Duston, the director of blood services for the Union County chapter of the Red Cross. "They just did a wonderful job of getting the word out."

The club promoted the drive with everything from banners to word of mouth. Even local churches helped promote the drive.

Before the doors opened at First Presbyterian Church of Wadesboro, there was a line of waiting donors.

Late in the afternoon, some donors were waiting an hour or more to give blood. Officials eventually had to turn some citizens away because they ran out of bags for the blood. The drive collected 57 pints.

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 donors was Frank Webb.

"Everybody that can donate should," he said. He got a notice from the Red Cross in the mail.

Unfortunately, those regular donors have often not been enough. The blood drives in Wadesboro, which take place most months at the church, have often fallen short of their routine goal of 40 pints.

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.

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