By David Rogers. October 28, 2011. BLOWING ROCK -- On a per capita basis, Blowing Rock is probably one of the highest performing communities in North Carolina for donating blood, thanks to a cooperative effort by The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock, St. Mary's of the Hills Episcopal Church, and Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church in Blowing Rock.

Organized by members of Rotary and alternately hosted by the churches approximately every 56 days, this week's blood drive was spearheaded by Rotary member Joe Kiker and staged at Rumple.

When reached by Blowing Rock News on Thursday, Kiker said, "We had 52 people present themselves for donating blood and there were 46 productive units collected.  We actually would have had 48, but one fellow who was going to donate two units in the same sitting was pumping his hand so hard to keep the blood flowing that the collection needle popped out.  That would have been near a record for a Blowing Rock blood drive.

"It is really gratifying to see how enthusiastic Blowing Rock is in donating blood," Kiker concluded. "Especially after the hurricane that swept up the East Coast, there is shortage in the blood supply.  When natural disasters strike, there is a double impact. Something like a hurricane or an earthquake increases the need for blood because of all the injuries, but it also disrupts the donation and collection processes.  Think of all the blood drives along the Eastern seaboard that were cancelled that day."

Blowing Rock's next Rotary-organized blood drive is slated for January 17th, tentatively at St. Mary's.

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