New York Blood Center Launches 'Pint For A Pint' Initiative

NEW YORK — A heatwave, summer travel and a spike in Covid-19 cases has pushed the New York Blood Center to declare a blood emergency for blood and platelet donors, according to the nonprofit organization.

Despite the lack of a steady flow in donors for patients in hospitals — there are only one to two day levels of blood supply as opposed to the ideal five to seven — the New York Blood Center has launched another creative campaign on Monday to attract new blood.

Throughout August until Sept. 10, the nonprofit has partnered with 25 local breweries for its “Pint for a Pint” initiative.

Blood donors who participate in the blood drives will be able to receive a voucher to redeem a free pint of beer, cider, wine or soft drink at a local brewery or restaurant throughout New York or New Jersey. Most of the local partners are from the Empire State, according to a list of participating breweries provided by the nonprofit.

Andrea Cefarelli, NYBC senior vice president, is grateful to all of the breweries and restaurants that have partnered with the blood center at such a critical time.

“Summer has always been a challenging time for the blood supply, and we are grateful to all of our partner breweries and restaurants for stepping up to help us during this critical time,” Cefarelli said in a statement. “All of our donor centers and blood drives are air-conditioned and donating blood could serve as a great break from record-breaking heat. Even better, we’ve partnered with breweries and restaurants all over the region for free beverages as a thank you for donating.”

The heat in New York is so severe that last week’s triathlon and first ever duathlon races were cut short by several miles due to a heat advisory, as reported by Patch.

BREWING PARTICIPANTS

HUDSON VALLEY

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
369 Lexington Ave., Mt. Kisco; and 444 Saw Mill River Rd., Elmsford

LONG ISLAND

Destination Unknown Beer Company
1 S Chicago Ave., Bay Shore; 65 Four Corners Rd., Warwick

BROOKLYN

Coney Island Brewing Company
1904 Surf Ave.

Brooklyn Brewery
79 N 11th St.

STATEN ISLAND

Rab’s Country Lanes
1600 Hylan Blvd.

NEW JERSEY

Darby Rd. Pub
450 Park Ave., Scotch Plains

Harvest Moon Brewery
392 George St., New Brunswick

"The brewing community is always willing to step up to help a great cause, and we can think of nothing more important than helping out our local blood centers, particularly during this time of extreme need,” Paul Halayko, president and co-owner of Newburgh Brewing Company, another Hudson Valley participant located at 88 Colden St., said in a statement. “We are more than happy to offer a free pint of beer to someone who selflessly gives blood to help save others, a small token of our appreciation to all the amazing donors."

NYBC hosts blood drives every day in addition to their 19 area donor centers in order to reach donors and meet local hospital needs. It is taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of Covid-19. 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.

To make an appointment at a blood drive nearby, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit nybc.org/pint. Can’t donate blood? Support NYBC’s mission by texting ‘NYBC’ to ‘20222’ to give $25.

Blood donors cannot redeem their voucher for alcohol on the day of their blood donation.

To get the full list of participating breweries and eateries visit nybc.org.