The New York Blood Center is urgently calling on New Yorkers to donate blood ahead of Memorial Day weekend as the region faces dangerously low blood collections at the start of the summer “trauma season.”
Hospitals often see a rise in serious injuries and emergency procedures during the summer months due to increased travel, outdoor recreation, and holiday activity, says the Blood Center, and trauma patients “can require dozens, sometimes hundreds, of blood transfusions in a matter of hours.”
More than 56,000 traumatic injuries are reported each year in New York State, many of which occur during weekends and throughout the summer months.
This is “one of the most difficult and critical times of year for maintaining the blood supply,” according to the Blood Center, when donations traditionally decline due to travel, vacations, school breaks, and holiday activities. The Blood Center said donations this year are down nearly 15 percent, “representing approximately 4,500 fewer donations than needed to meet hospital demand across the region.
“This is one of the more challenging starts to summer we’ve seen in recent years,” said Jeannie Mascolino, Vice President of Operations, New York Blood Center. “We are already thousands of donations behind where we would typically like to be heading into Memorial Day weekend, a time when donations often decline further. Continued donor support in the coming weeks will be critical to helping hospitals maintain a stable blood supply for patients who depend on transfusions every day.”
To encourage donations during the holiday week, those who donate at any NYBC donor center or blood drive between Wednesday, May 20 and Wednesday, May 27 will receive a packable picnic blanket to celebrate the unofficial start of summer.
Memorial Day weekend also serves as the kickoff to the Blood Center’s broader “Be the Reason Summer Feels Brighter” initiative, a seasonal effort focused on maintaining a stable blood supply throughout the challenging summer months. Donors can visit nybc.org/reason to view upcoming summer donations, learn about additional summer donor promotions, and find convenient locations to donate.
More people than ever may now be eligible to give, due to updated FDA guidelines, according to the Blood Center. Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month.
Here are the upcoming NYBC blood drives across the East End in the week ahead. To register for these or other blood drives, visit NYBC’s Blood Drive Locator:
Wednesday, May 20
Hampton Bays Library, 52 Ponquogue Ave, Hampton Bays. 1 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26
Stony Brook ELIH, 201 Manor Place, Greenport. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27
Hampton Bays High School, 88 East Argonne Road, Hampton Bays. 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Southampton High School, 141 Narrow Lane, Southampton. 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Box Pickleball, 605 Old Country Road, Riverhead. Noon to 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 28
Pierson Middle/High School, 200 Jermain Ave., Sag Harbor. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mattituck Lions Club at the Mattituck Fire Dept., 1000 Pike Street, Mattituck. 1 to 7 p.m.
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