Village Lutheran Church & The Chapel School Host Blood Drive

Bronxville, NY- On Tuesday, September 10th Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School partnered with New York Blood Center to hold a blood drive. Families, faculty, staff and members of the community came together to donate during a time when the blood supply was already low following a drop in donations over Labor Day weekend. The New York Blood Center had already shipped units to blood centers in areas threatened/affected by Dorian and more donations are urgently needed in order to ensure blood is available in the aftermath of the storm. Donated blood is perishable, so the supply must be constantly replenished.

Forty three units were collected with the potential to save nearly one hundred and twenty-nine lives. Every two seconds someone needs blood and each unit of blood donated can be used to save up to three people. All blood types are needed to help ensure a sufficient blood supply is available, especially type O (universal) donors.

“I wanted to host the event because my brother-in-law Larry is receiving treatment for leukemia, and I’ve seen first hand how critical life saving blood donations are needed,” said Kim Zwisdak, Development Office Project Manage at Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School. “My sister actually called during the blood drive to thank everyone, because he was getting a blood transfusion right at that time. It was really full circle.”

A few donors also brought their children along to see the process and learn the importance of helping others. “We are learning about blood in Science in class, this is so interesting to see,” said one student. One child was afraid after finding out her mother donated blood, but after hearing how the blood will help those who are sick or in an accident she ran to her mother and gave her a big hug saying, “You’re a hero.”

There were people who donated many times in the past as well as first time donors. One volunteer had mentioned how he had donated throughout his life and was a member of the five gallon club. “The entire appointment took about an hour with actual blood donation lasting less than ten minutes. “That was a lot quicker than I thought it would be and I actually feel fine,” said one first time donor munching on some snacks.

“I am thankful we partnered with the New York Blood Center,” stated Kim. They were helpful throughout the whole process and the drive was really organized and ran efficiently. I am hopeful we will continue this partnership in the future.”

Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School are located at 172 White Plains Road in Bronxville. For more information about Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School and its programs, call 914-337-3202 or visit www.vlc-ny.org or www.thechapelschool.org.

About New York Blood Center

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the country. Each year, NYBC provides approximately one million blood products to nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast. NYBC also provides a wide array of transfusion-related medical services. NYBC is also home to the world’s largest public cord blood bank, which provides stem cells for transplant in many countries, and a renowned research institute, which – among other milestones -- developed the Hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification technology. Website: www.nybloodcenter.org