Islip Terrace blood drive yields 116 units

A blood drive in honor of Heather McNamara, an 8-year-old Islip Terrace girl who underwent a rare and risky cancer surgery last year, yielded 116 units of blood and red cells, a New York Blood Center spokeswoman said.

The drive, held Monday at the Islip Terrace Fire Department where Heather's father, Joe, is a volunteer, was the second such drive in honor of the girl. The first was held last year, as Heather recovered from a 23-hour surgery during which six of her internal organs were removed, and three replaced, to get rid of a cancerous tumor.

The drive came days after a crippling winter storm that caused the blood center's supplies to dip below normal levels. Blood center spokeswoman Leslie Gonzalez said they had expected more donors, but many of the department's members had to respond to a fire.