NEW BRUNSWICK – As Hurricane Dorian moves its way up the east coast, New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Center (NYBC) is calling for more blood donations.
Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday and the NYBC needs more donations in order to ensure blood is available in the aftermath of the storm.
NYBC has already shipped units to blood centers in areas threatened by Dorian however, donated blood is perishable, so the supply must be constantly replenished.
The storm comes as the blood supply was already low following a drop in donations over Labor Day weekend.
“Every day we ensure the hospitals in our region have a safe and reliable blood supply, but in times of crisis, we stretch our reserves to help areas in need. Now is one of those times—it is our duty to step up to help our Southern neighbors facing Hurricane Dorian. In emergency situations, local blood supplies often reach critical lows and blood centers across the country step up to help fill in the gaps,” said Rob Purvis, Senior Vice President at New York Blood Center. “We are calling on all New Yorkers and their neighbors across the tri-state area to donate blood and platelets today as Hurricane Dorian leaves many Americans in danger.”
Blood donations are used to help cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.
For information on where to donate, visit nybloodcenter.org/blood or call 1-800-933-2566.
