Blood Drive Thursday Honors Siblings Who Received Heart Transplants

SHOREHAM, NY — A blood drive hosted by New York Blood Center is taking place Thursday in honor of Ruby and Everett Cotter, a brother and sister from Wading River who both received life-saving heart transplants.

Ruby and Everett, siblings who were diagnosed with the same heart condition as babies, received heart transplants and many blood donations between 2019 and 2022. Blood donations helped Ruby and Everett through their transplants, and their family is asking for their community to donate blood and give other patients the same fighting chance, NYBC said.

The blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 250B Route 25A in Shoreham. To make an appointment, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit this link. If you can’t donate blood, you can still support NYBC’s mission by texting ‘NYBC’ to ‘20222’ to give $25.

"The month of December is always a difficult time to collect blood donations, as school breaks, family vacations, holiday travel and cold weather all contribute to making blood donations less of a priority. Hospitals and patients rely upon a steady flow of volunteer donors to receive life-saving blood donations, but the past two years have brought chronic blood shortages nationwide," NYBC said.

NYBC said it has seen a 50 percent decrease in youth donors since pre-pandemic. Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently lifted several blood donor eligibility restrictions.

To view current eligibility guidelines, click here or call 800-688-0900.

It has been four years since a baby's Christmas miracle captured the hearts of a community: Ruby June Cotter of Wading River received her life-saving new heart just before Christmas in 2019.

Speaking with Patch, Cotter reflected on the day Ruby received her transplant. "She was just six months old. It’s hard to relive the emotions of that day. Being happy and relieved, but also terrified. Not to mention the sadness of knowing a family lost their baby. Although we celebrate her heart day once a year like a birthday, we think about Ruby’s donor every day. We are so lucky to have her. She’s so funny and so smart. An old, sensitive soul. An amazing big sister and just an overall sweetheart."

The Cotter family has seen unthinkable challenges. Two years after Ruby received her heart transplant, they were told their second child, Everett, ("Buddy"), who was turning a year old, also needed a new heart.

But in 2022, it was a Christmas miracle, times two, for the Wading River parents. Their two children both continued thriving after life-saving heart transplants. And to make the season even more meaningful — last year marked the first time all four were home together, and not in the hospital, for Christmas.

"Our true Christmas miracles," Brian Cotter wrote on Facebook. "We are forever grateful."