Donate blood today — lives depend on it

When the New York Knicks won the NBA title in June, the furthest thing from most people's minds was donating blood.

But large events like the Knicks' championship and ensuing celebration parade, combined with the eight World Cup games held in the area over a month, disrupted blood donation events and pushed blood donations  off schedules.

For just the second time in its history, the American Red Cross, on July 27, issued a national blood crisis warning. On Long Island, it's a dire issue since donations remain below pre-pandemic levels. According to the New York Blood Center (NYBC), the Island accounts for 30% of donations in the tristate area. Since last July, Long Island has had a 3% drop in blood donations, meaning 1,200 fewer total donations, and since blood donations don't have a long shelf life, the NYBC relies on continual replenishment to meet needs.

Other factors contributing to the blood shortage include the cyclospora outbreaks, annual summer vacations, and two heat waves and localized flooding in the tristate area so far this summer, creating a "perfect storm" of hurdles, Yadira Navarro, executive director of donor recruitment and strategic partnerships for the NYBC, told the editorial board.

Not only are individual donor numbers down since 2019, there were 200 fewer blood drives last year compared with the previous year. That means there are fewer opportunities for people to donate, and those who do want to donate have to travel further, which is a big deal since the NYBC says people generally don't travel more than 10 miles to donate. Blood donor events at your neighborhood firehouse, library and workplace are convenient and result in more donations.

Even a 3% drop in donations could lead to NYBC running out of blood, Navarro said. That's led NYBC to push to find more groups willing to host blood drives to get blood donations back to pre-pandemic levels in the tristate area.

Blood donations are needed for surgeries and trauma, but also chronic illnesses that require regular transfusions. A Long Island mother has, since she was an infant, needed monthly transfusions of one unit of blood, which increased to two units every two weeks as an adult, to treat a rare form of chronic anemia. She still relies on monthly blood transfusions to live. Navarro said headlines of blood shortages scare her. "She gets very nervous when she hears about blood shortages," Navarro said. "She says she is reliant on the kindness of strangers for her survival."

Donating blood is relatively quick and painless. Navarro said of the 60% of Americans eligible to donate, only 3% do. Just a percentage point more would likely mean no more blood shortages.

Make a plan: Find a blood donation event near you by visiting nybc.org, schedule a donation, write reminders all over your house, and keep your commitment. Lives depend upon it.