Blood Donations Fall To Emergency Levels: Donate In Nyack

NYACK, NY — An upcoming blood drive in Nyack will help ease a nationwide shortage that has been exacerbated by severe winter weather that forced hundreds of blood drive cancellations across the country.

Since early January, about 265 blood drives across 27 states were canceled due to weather, leaving more than 8,000 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected and potentially leaving hospitals in short supply of blood, the American Red Cross said in an emergency appeal.

Blood was already in short supply before millions of people from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast and the Deep South were placed under some kind of weather alert, including those for blizzards and life-threatening cold air. More bad weather coming up could cause even more cancellations.

To help, Rockland residents are encouraged to give blood at an upcoming event in the county.

Montefiore Nyack Hospital is hosting a blood drive with the New York Blood Center Jan. 31. The NYBC’s Bloodmobile will be stationed in the Physician’s Lot, located off Rte. 9W between Fifth and Midland Avenues in Nyack from noon to 6 p.m.

Appointments are highly encouraged.

When a person donates one unit of blood, it can be separated into individual components to save multiple lives, hospital officials said.

Red blood cells are given to people who have blood disorders, such as sickle cell disease or chronic anemia caused by kidney failure or bleeding in the stomach. They are also given to people who have acute blood loss from trauma. Sometimes babies born very early need a transfusion to increase the number of red blood cells in their bodies.

Platelets are most often used to treat cancer. They are also given to patients who have open-heart surgery and organ transplants.

Plasma transfusions are used for patients with liver failure, bad infections and serious burns.

Whole blood is usually given to people who have life-threatening injuries or people in surgery.

Today’s advanced medical care relies on an ample and readily available blood supply. From organ transplants to heart surgeries, blood transfusions are among the most common medical procedures. Since blood can only be stored for so long, hospitals and patients rely upon a steady flow of volunteer donors. However, blood donor numbers have declined overall with a decrease of 300,000 blood donors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

To help offset chronic blood shortages, Rockland County residents are encouraged to donate blood once per season or four times a year.

You must be at least 16 years old to donate, be in good health, and weigh at least 110 lbs. For more information, visit nybc.org.

To donate blood and platelets at Montefiore Nyack’s blood drive, please schedule an appointment at Donor Portal - New York Blood Center (nybc.org).*

*Automated red cell donation takes a bit longer and has additional eligibility requirements. If you’re not sure if you qualify, schedule a whole blood appointment, and ask staff when you arrive if you qualify for an auto-red procedure.

Across the country, all blood types are needed, according to the Red Cross, which says it needs to collect 12,500 units of blood and nearly 3,000 platelet donations a day to ensure 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide have adequate supplies,

The emergency blood shortage comes as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years, the Red Cross says. Teens and young adults, especially, are encouraged to become regular donors.

While the number of blood donations has decreased by 40 percent during that time, of big concern is a decline in the number of young people who are giving blood. A federal National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey showed the number of teens and young adults giving blood has steadily fallen since 2013. Donations from 16- to 18-year-olds dropped by 60 percent from 2019 to 2021, and donations from 19- to 24-year-olds went down by almost a third, according to that report.

Experts said the decline is partly, but not entirely, due to the pandemic. Turning that around is paramount to ensuring the nation has a reliable blood supply.

“If that trend continues, we’re going to be in a very difficult situation,” said Dr. Claudia Cohn, chief medical officer for the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, told NBC News. “Blood centers often depend upon high schools for their blood drives.”

Cohn said Baby Boomers are the most reliable blood donors and, “unfortunately, younger people are not getting out and replacing those numbers as we need them.”

More information is available by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or calling 1-800-Red Cross.