Community Blood Services provides blood and blood products to 32 hospitals and medical centers in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Hudson counties in New Jersey, as well as in New York City and Rockland and Orange counties in New York.

More than one million units of blood have been collected by CBS from volunteer donors and tested, processed and distributed to area hospitals to be used in vital medical procedures

Community Blood Services is issuing an urgent appeal to area residents to make a volunteer donation in the wake of an emergency shortage that�s affecting the entire New York metropolitan area.

Healthy individuals are asked to donate now at the blood center to ensure adequate blood for patients in the region.

New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area are experiencing one of the worst blood shortages in history. Low donor turnout and stringent new FDA regulations have severely curtailed the amount of blood available. "We need people to come out and donate so our hospitals can have the needed blood for surgeries and other critical medical treatments," Dennis Todd, president and CEO of Community Blood Services.