Mary Duncan finishes giving her pint of blood with help from Susan Simpson of The Blood Connection at a blood drive held Thursday, Jan. 5 at St. Luke’s Hospital. About 35 area residents had given blood by about 3:30 p.m. last Thursday. Organizers said the turnout was good considering it was the first blood drive done with The Blood Connection. St. Luke’s   recently announced a new contract with The Blood Connection, an Upstate, S.C. provider for blood products. Improved pricing, distribution, collection, tracking and customer service were some of the reasons St. Luke’s cited for contracting with The Blood Connection. (photo by Leah Justice)