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Your view: Splitting hairs on tax credits, subsidies

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Another Luzerne County female inmate attempts suicide

It&#8217;s right there, at the top of the American Red Cross website.&#8220;The need is constant, the gratification is instant. Give blood.&#8221;&#8220;The need&#8221; is unequivocal, has been for decades. You may hear about particularly urgent shortages periodically &#8212; the <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/669118/thousands-answer-the-call-but-red-cross-blood-shortage-continues" target="_blank">demand</a> is currently so acute that Red Cross is giving $5 Target eGiftCards now through Aug. 31 &#8212; but anyone who pays attention knows the Red Cross never grapples with a glut of donations.So while it&#8217;s great to respond to the call to action when the reserves run dry, it&#8217;s better to give as often as you can. Make it a habit, as it were. The Red Cross is only too happy to help with reminders every time you are eligible, which is every 56 days for whole blood donations.The excuses for not donating run the gamut; some are more legitimate than others, none should be voiced before you&#8217;ve tried.Yes, you may be ineligible due to anything from low iron content to a recent overseas trip. Yes, a fear of needles can make it harder, and you can almost certainly find someone with a mini-horror story of a swollen arm from a misdirected insertion. Yes, the screening process has gotten much more involved than decades ago, as any long-time donor will attest.But giving blood is overwhelmingly safe, almost always involves little more than a brief sting from the needle, and can even be relaxing &#8212; after all, you get to lie down for about 10 minutes when donating whole blood. The whole process can take as much time as some people spend on lunch.And it is quite literally life-saving. One donation can help up to three people, the Red Cross routinely reminds us, because it is processed into several components that can fulfill different needs of different people.But most importantly, it is essential. We may have flown to the moon and mapped the human genome, but science has yet to manufacture a replacement for what courses through our veins.There is no substitute for blood.We just ran this information, but it is worth a reminder here.To schedule a donation, use the Blood Donor App on your smartphone, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Or consider any of the upcoming opportunities.&#8226; Wilkes Barre Blood Donation Center, 29 New Commerce Blvd., AshleyMondays 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays noon to 8 p.m., Fridays 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.&#8226; DallasJuly 31, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Dallas Baptist Church, 3 Briarcrest Road&#8226; KingstonAug. 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., First Hospital, 562 Wyoming Ave.Aug. 11, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Temple B&#8217;nai B&#8217;rith, 408 Wyoming Ave.&#8226; Harveys LakeAug. 10, noon to 5 p.m., Our Lady of Victory Church, 16 Second St.&#8226; West HazletonAug. 7, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Hazleton Chapter House, 165 Susquehanna Blvd.&#8226; West PittstonAug. 9, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., West Pittston Moose Lodge, 425 Exeter Ave.&#8226; Wilkes-BarreAug. 9, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 60 S. River St.<style>
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Our View: Curb your excuses and donate blood: There’s no substitute