Community Blood Services Urgently Needs Blood Donations
Less Than a Half Day�s Supply Currently on Shelves

August 2010

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Community Blood Services is facing a severe blood shortage, with less than a half day�s supply of blood on its shelves to meet the needs of patients in the more than 30 hospitals it serves in New Jersey and New York State.

All blood types are needed, especially O negative, A negative and B negative, according to Vernon Reed, vice president of development at Community Blood Services. Reed said about 250 pints of blood must be collected daily to meet the hospitals� needs. Recently, only about 50 pints have been collected daily.

�Community Blood Services is urging eligible blood donors today and in the upcoming weeks through Labor Day to help replenish the blood supply so there is a sufficient supply for those patients who will need it,� he said.

�If we don�t get more donors to make lifesaving donations, we could be short about 1,500 pints in the next 10 days,� he warned. He noted blood only has a 35-day shelf life so it must constantly be replenished.

Reed noted the supply traditionally drops each summer because there are no high school blood drives, donations drop at corporate blood drives because employees are on vacation and volunteer donors who normally donate at the donor centers don�t show up as frequently because of their busy summer schedules and vacations.

In New Jersey, donors can donate at the Paramus (970 Linwood Avenue West) or Lincoln Park (63 Beaverbrook Road, Suite 304) donor centers. In New York, they can donate at New Windsor (575 Hudson Valley Avenue, Suite 206) or Warwick (20 Grand Street near the Mount Alverno Center). Or they can donate at a mobile blood drive.

Donors can click here for hours of operation. They can schedule an appointment by calling the 866-228-1500 or click here. Walk ins are also welcome.

�By donating you can make a real difference in someone�s life,� Reed said. �Every 2.5 seconds someone needs blood�.it could be a friend, a family member, or maybe even you.�