The town of North Hempstead has partnered with the nonprofit New York Blood Center to hold its annual summer blood drive in New Hyde Park following the blood bank’s declaration of a statewide blood emergency due to a decline in donations.
The blood drive will take place on on Wednesday, Aug. 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Clinton G. Martin Park in New Hyde Park.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said she is urging anyone who can to give the gift of life.
“Blood cannot be created and it cannot be paid for,” DeSena said. “It’s a gift of life…It doesn’t take a long time, but it’s so worth it to take this time and give for our neighbors, who unfortunately are in need of blood.”
This summer’s blood drive will be the fourth in DeSena’s term and comes after the NY Blood Center and the New Jersey Blood Services’ June 2 announcement of a blood shortage emergency in both states. The announcement stated New York is short by nearly 390,000 donors, with only 2% of the state donating blood, falling short of the national average of 3%.
The organization reported that events such as this upcoming drive are crucial to the state’s blood supply. A full 50% of New York’s blood supply is dependent on community-based blood drives hosted by schools, businesses, religious groups and civic organizations.
Under the ongoing blood shortage, O-negative and O-positive blood types are the lowest in supply. Chelsey Smith, public relations director at NY Blood Center, referred to these blood types as crucial for emergency and trauma care. According to the center, in situations where the state is facing shortages, it typically would turn to other states. However, there are currently shortages nationwide.
“Oftentimes in the blood industry, whenever one part of the country is struggling more than another, we can rely on support from other blood centers to send us inventory,” Smith said. “Right now, the national supply of type O blood is low, which means we can’t rely on a national inventory.”
Alexander Indrikovs, the senior director of transfusion services for Northwell Health, explained that their hospitals have not yet felt an impact from the blood shortage as the center still has an adequate blood supply reserved. However, in the event that a lot of transfusions are needed at once, it could lead to the state reserves being depleted quickly.
Smith cited a possible reason is that the decrease in donations typically occurs during the summer due to regular donors leaving for vacation, with typical drives in schools not occurring due to summer break.
The summer is also “trauma season,” the period during warmer months when there is an increase in accidents and trauma-related injuries. According to the blood bank, late spring and summer see a rise in emergency room visits and transfusion needs.
“As New Yorkers, we pride ourselves on being strong and generous,” said DeSena. “I think all we have to do is ask, let them know that the need is there, and ask them for their help and their gift. I believe that they will step up and help.”
Organizers said appointments are open for the August blood drive; however, walk-ins are welcome. For those unable to attend the event, a blood center in Lake Success can be visited year-round. A full list of locations and upcoming blood drives is available at nybc.org.
