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Abe Auerbach, a resident of Oracle from 1980 until his death Jan. 14, 2014, was a dedicated blood donator. So happy that he was a “universal donor” (having type O – negative, a blood group anybody could use, no matter what their type), he donated every chance he got — and bragged about it.
Therefore to honor him, his widow Evaline Auerbach is sponsoring a community blood drive through Red Cross on Oct. 1, which would have been his 89th birthday. It is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Trowbridge Hall — behind the Oracle Union Church at the junction of American Avenue and Mt. Lemmon Highway (turn in at the community center sign).
Abe gave 50 pints between June 30, 1998, and July 28, 2009— an “amazing” amount, says the Red Cross. That would mean that 70% of the time that he was eligible, he gave. He had donated many more pints before 1998 but the Red Cross hadn’t started keeping track of individual donations until then. After mid-2009, he was required to stop because of the medications he had to take for his heart failure. One of Abe’s chief complaints about being sick was that he couldn’t give blood anymore.
If you can give, please call Evaline at (520) 610-8742 to sign up for a specific time and/ or to ask questions about eligibility. Of course, you can always show up on the morning of Oct. 1 and sign up or ask questions – or just to visit. If you can’t give blood but want to make a donation to the Red Cross in Abe’s name, please bring it by – or call the number given to find where to send it.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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