New Jersey Blood Services Announces a Blood Emergency

NEW JERSEY -- New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) today announced a blood emergency as fears of the COVID-19 Delta Variant are leading to cancelled blood drives and a drop in donations.

In recent weeks, the blood supply has dropped from 5 days to a 2-3 day supply and 1-2 day supply of type O; NJBS warns this could signal more severe shortages in the weeks ahead. There has been a chronic blood shortage throughout the pandemic, but NJBS had anticipated the supply would rebound soon when vaccinated people resumed some normal activities. NJBS also expected school and office blood drives to return this fall. The Delta variant has halted that recovery and threatens the blood supply.

Blood drives that had been planned by community organizations, businesses and schools are being cancelled and fewer donors are making appointments at donor centers.

“We are deeply worried by the recent drop in donations and blood drive cancelations -- at this concerning time it's critical that healthy donors continue to come forward to help their neighbors,” said Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Executive Director at New Jersey Blood Services. “A robust blood supply is essential for our healthcare system to function and we must do everything we can to strengthen it at this time of uncertainty. We are so grateful to our donors for continuing to show up and encourage everyone in the region to join them to ensure there’s enough blood for the thousands who need transfusions each day in New Jersey.”

Donating blood is safe and it only takes one hour. We are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. NJBS staff are also practicing health self-assessments prior to presenting at work. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions is available here.
Donors can schedule appointments by calling 1-800-933-2566 or visiting www.nybc.org.

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About New York Blood Center: Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. NYBC, along with its operating divisions Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), collect approximately 4,000 units of blood products each day and serve local communities of more than 75 million people in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), Mid Atlantic area (PA, DE, MD, VA), Missouri and Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Southern New England. NYBC and its operating divisions also provide a wide array of transfusion-related medical services to over 500 hospitals nationally, including Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the National Center for Blood Group Genomics, the National Cord Blood Program, and the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, which — among other milestones — developed a practical screening method for hepatitis B as well as a safe, effective and affordable vaccine, and a patented solvent detergent plasma process innovating blood-purification technology worldwide.