Lincoln Park Dancing Days

Blood supplies dwindling

Has become dire

By Bryan Wassel

With supplies approaching critically low levels, Community Blood Services (CBS) is calling for anyone who can give blood to take the time to donate.

The summer months always see a decline in blood donations. There are no high school blood drives, which provide 8 to 10 percent of the organization's supply during the school year, and participation is down among regular volunteers as well as at corporate and community blood drives.

The summer and holiday months are always a difficult time for the organization, said CBS Director of Community Affairs Karen Ferriday. The shortage will likely continue until after Labor Day weekend.

"Those two times of the year are always tough," Ferriday said. "Those are the times when people are traveling, they're away, they're busy, so maybe they're not thinking about the importance or the need as much."

But the need for blood does not diminish.

"Sometimes the need also increases in the summer because people are traveling and they're busy outdoors," she said. "There's sometimes a higher demand because of accidents."

To try and keep up with the demand, CBS has been putting the word out through traditional and social media outlets, hoping to attract enough donors to keep up with the 250 pints required daily by the 25 New York and New Jersey hospitals the organization serves, Ferriday said. The organization is also trying to host more mobile blood drives in local communities, and looking for community members willing to help set up an event.

"If they want to host a blood drive with their community or church or organization, they can call us and we will work with them to do that," Ferriday said. "We're just trying as hard as we can to get the word out."

Any healthy person between 17 and 75 years old (or 16 years old with parental permission) who weighs at least 110 pounds is welcome and encouraged to make an appointment for a donation. Potential donors should bring signature ID with them, and will receive a medical screening before giving blood to ensure they can donate.

roio » Blog Archive » THE LINCOLN PARK MARK COLLECTION ...

An audience recording of this Gothenburg show was released by Crystal Cat as Midsummer Second Night (aka Midsummer Night Two), probably in 2005 or earlier and fans have rated the sound on the release as “stellar”.

Commenting on the Crystal Cat disc at bosstracks.blogspot.com, SoulBoogieAlex noted:

On this particular midsummer night the Ullevi Stadium got treated to “Jackson Cage”, “My Love Will Not Let You Down” and a chilling version of “Racing In The Street”. Though in this instance it is not the rarities that make this recording a gem, it is the staple that make this recording tick. In a whopping 19 minutes the band delivers a “Mary’s Place” that stands… a house party indeed. I still enjoy hearing the Boss working that huge stadium crowd every time I hear this version… The absolute highlight of this bootleg is “Ramrod”. The song had been played to death during the Reunion and the Rising tour, yet on this night it found its definitive version in my mind. Roy Bittan delivers a rollicking boogie solo that trumps all other versions the Boss did in his career. Not to mention the crowd on “Hungry Heart” that makes you wish you could have been there.