AIDS and
apathy have
cut the
supply, but
not the need,
for Detroit
area blood
donors
After giving blood, donors can expect cookies and sympathy.
Increasing The Flow
DEBBIE WAWS,LANDAU
Special to The Jewish News
I
Charles and Diana Blauer:
Regular donors.
34
Friday, May 1, 1987
RUE or FALSE?
• You can get AIDS (ac-
quired immune deficiency
syndrome) from donating
blood.
• You cannot give blood if you have
been anemic.
• You must pay for blood or replace
it if you receive a transfusion
during surgery or a medical
emergency.
If you answered "false" to all
the above questions, you are among
an informed community Diana and
Charles Blauer would like to see
expand.
"There's no way an individual
can get AIDS from giving blood,"
. Diana emphasizes. "Sterile, dispos-
able needles are used in blood
drives which have never come into
contact with the body fluids of an-
other person. That's the only way
one can catch AIDS."
The Blauers are a husband-
and-wife team who have co-chaired
the annual blood drives sponsored
by the B'nai B'rith and B'nai B'rith
Women's Councils of Metropolitan
Detroit for almost ten years:
She's a member and past
president of the Ivan S. Bloch
Chapter. He's a member, current
corresponding secretary and past
president of the Ivan S. Bloch/
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israel Lodge. They have regularly
donated blood since their respective
councils began an enduring rela-
tionship with the Southeastern
Michigan American Red Cross in
the years following World War II.
Because Charlie's work for a
food wholesaler meant early day-
time hours, he was uniquely avail-
able to lend needed hands to the
blood drives. Diana was first asked
by the B'nai B'rith Women's Coun-
cil president to chair the event.
They will again demonstrate
their commitment to the program
when the second of four annual
blood drives commences. at 5:30
p.m. Monday at Temple Emanu-El
in Oak Park.
"B'nai B'rith and B'nai B'rith
Women are longtime friends of the
American Red Cross," says Paula
Scheurer, spokesman for the South-
eastern Michigan region. "One of
my goals is to find other civic and
fraternal groups with their com-
mitment and willingness to keep
the available supply of blood up.
It's quite a challenge."
The challenge has gotten
tougher as a result of misconcep-
tions arising from the widely-
publicized AIDS crisis, and general
misinformation among the public.
Diana Blauer says, "There and
over 40 combined lodges, chapters
and professional units among the
membership of B'nai B'rith and
B'nai B'rith Women. In the past, it
was usual to get 40 or even 50
members from one chapter, lodge or
unit to donate on one day. The
most recent drives have been very
disappointing. Our last drive re-
ceived less than 50 pints total in
two days."
The trend Diana notices is
widespread among drives in fac-
tories, et arch groups and other
organizations, according to Paula
Scheuer.
"I really believe positive pub-
licity, and just nudging each other
to make an extra effort would get
those numbers up," Diana believes.
"We've been holding the drives at
Temple Emanu-El for the past sev-
eral years. The drives are specifi-
cally designed to operate between
5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Mondays
and Tuesdays to encourage people
to come after work."
Lillian Sklar, a past president
of Marshall Chapter of B'nai B'rith
Women, is volunteer coordinator
for the blood drives. Some of our
members have been volunteering
their time for 25 or even 30 years,"
she said. "Our volunteers assist the
Red Cross personnel on site in a
number of ways. Some work regis-
tration, some provide refreshments
in the canteen area, many assist
with matching the 'zebra' numbers
on the registration forms with the
bags and vials of blood to insure
absolute accuracy of identification."