NEW YORK – New York Blood Center is calling for blood donors amid the tripledemic of RSV, Flu and COVID-19 and the upcoming holidays season, threatening an already unstable blood supply.
The blood center is celebrating the holidays by providing socks to every presenting donor at all 19 area donor centers. The promotion will be available from Monday, December 19 to Wednesday, January 4 as a way for blood center to thank their generous donors.
Every December, school breaks, family vacations and travel all contribute to making blood donations less of a priority. The increase in cases of RSV, Flu and COVID-19 are creating new concern, as fear of getting sick is causing donors with upcoming appointments to cancel, creating extra volatility in the blood supply.
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. The region’s blood supply currently stands at a 1-3-day level, which is well below the ideal level of 5-7-days.
“The winter months are always a difficult time to maintain our blood supply, but new challenges like rising RSV, Flu and COVID-19 cases is making the need to build our inventory even greater,” said Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Vice President at New York Blood Center. “We are encouraging all eligible, and especially first-time donors, to come out and spread holiday cheer with the greatest gift of all, lifesaving blood donations. We’ll even throw in a pair of socks to say thank you!”
To make an appointment, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit nybc.org.
