2017 Summer Blood Drive: Emergency Shortage Declared
Community Blood Services · New Jersey Blood Services
Central Jersey Blood Center · New Jersey Red Cross · Community Blood Council
New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS), a division of New York Blood Center (NYBC), has declared a blood emergency and is asking the public to please find time to donate blood at a NJBS donor center or convenient blood drive to help replenish the community’s blood supply. Recent national tragedies are reminders that it is imperative to always have an adequately stocked blood supply to respond when communities are faced with patient traumas or other events that require life-saving blood products.
To donate blood or for information on how to organize a blood drive Please call Toll-Free: 1-800-933-2566 or visit: nyBbloodCenter.org/blood
In order to maintain a safe blood supply a seven-day inventory of all types must be continually replenished. Companies, organizations, and community groups are also encouraged to step up to host a blood drive in July or August to help rebuild the blood supply. Hosting a blood drive is easy and New Jersey Blood Services staff will help you every step of the way.
According to Andrea Cefarelli, Executive Director, “We are in dire need of O negative blood with a reserve that is currently below a two day supply, and that is just too low.”
O negative blood donors are considered “universal,” and their blood type is needed most readily in trauma situations and emergency departments across the country. Due to its high demand, O negative blood is in short supply and NJBS encourages individuals with this blood type to consider stepping forward and donate today. Our local blood supply has reached a critically low level, with under a two-day supply of O negative, B negative, and A negative.
About Blood Donations: The entire donation process takes less than an hour and a single donation can be used to save multiple lives. Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may host a blood drive. Blood donors receive free mini-medical exams on site including information about their temperature, blood pressure and hematocrit level.
Eligible donors include those people at least age 16 (parental consent is required for 16-year-olds), who weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, are in good health and meet all Food & Drug Administration and NY or NJ State Department of Health donor criteria. People age 76 or older may donate if they have a doctor’s note on file with New York Blood Center or if they bring one on the day of the blood drive.
Each year, NJBS/NYBC provide approximately one million blood products to nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast, along with a wide array of transfusion-related medical services. It is also home to the world’s largest public cord blood bank, and a research institute which — among other milestones — developed the hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification technology.
As we head into the summer months, we are reminded of how essential it is that our community maintains steady participation in blood donation. The best preparation for an unpredictable tragedy is having blood on the shelves ready to be transfused. This is key to saving lives.