By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Almost 100 people Saturday gave what the Tristate needs most - blood.

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in Mount Adams hosted its seventh annual holiday blood drive, collecting about 95 pints. . Donations typically dwindle during the winter holidays because of upswings in car crashes and regular donors getting sidetracked with Christmas preparations.

"This is just another way we can give back to the community," said Playhouse executive director Buzz Ward, who sported a "Be Nice To Me, I Gave Blood Today" sticker.

He was connected to a whirring machine that collected a pint of his blood and platelets for Hoxworth Blood Center, the Tristate's primary blood bank.

At the Playhouse's blood drive, Hoxworth's nurses and phlebotomists pricked those who were willing to sacrifice part of a day of Christmas shopping so that they could donate pints of blood, which help up to four people apiece.

Only a handful chose to go through the lengthier platelet donation, which can benefit leukemia, transplant and cancer patients.

Simon Collins, a Hoxworth phlebotomist, stressed that every donation counts. Hoxworth, he said, annually collects 86,000 units of blood, which helps save lives at 24 hospitals in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

The center operates several neighborhood donor centers and regularly sends out buses to collect blood donations from schools, churches, VFW halls and other locations.

It aims to collect 325 pints of donated blood a day, but that goal can be hard to reach during the winter, Mr. Collins said.

"We need the community to come out and support itself. It could be your friend, your family member, your loved one who gets the blood," Mr. Collins said.

Jack Pille, 53, of Fort Wright, Ky., always donates around Christmas time. He's been giving blood since he attended Thomas More College and many of his acquaintances were fighting in Vietnam.

He took a 15-minute timeout Saturday to give again.

"We put dollars into a kettle at this time of year. (This) is just a nice way to give a little bit more. You always hope that you're doing something for a friend," he said.

E-mail svela@enquirer.com