Blood Donations Desperately Needed In NYC, Officials Say

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers need to lend an arm to help replenish the city's rapidly-draining blood supply, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The city currently has a three-day blood supply, down from its seven-day ideal level, de Blasio said Tuesday.

This "marked decrease" is directly tied to the coronavirus crisis, which dried up donations from blood drives, he said.

"The current blood supply is down to just a few days, just a few days," he said at his daily conference. "This is really a very, very urgent situation."

A new holiday campaign — GiveBloodNYC — jointly run by the city and the New York Blood Center aims to shore up stocks of life-saving blood.

Its goal is to collect 25,000 blood, plasma and platelet donations through the holiday season. That's about 2,000 donations a day, said Christopher Hillyer, president and CEO of New York Blood Center.

"During COVID, all people still go to the hospital with trauma — mothers delivering babies, babies who are premature, surgeries, cancer patients," he said. "All these patients need blood."

Shatera Weaver, an educator at Metropolitan Expediationary Learning School in Queens, sat next to de Blasio and gave a firsthand account how important blood transfusions are for her own health.

Weaver is a self-described "sickle cell warrior" who faced a painful sickle cell crisis a few weeks ago. A blood transfusion not only abated the crisis, it invigorated her, she said.

"I swear it’s like spinach for Popeye," she said.

The campaign offers 50 prizes for New Yorkers who donate blood, including Coaches Club Tickets to the New York Jets season opener, a six-person VIP of the Empire State Building and free Krispy Kreme donuts for a year.

New Yorkers looking to donate can schedule an appointment at nybc.org/donate to donate at one of New York Blood Center’s NYC locations before December 31.

They're encouraged to take a selfie of blood donation visits and tag New York Blood Center on social media with the hashtag #GiveBloodNYC.

People can visit www.nybc.org/givebloodNYC to fill out an entry form.