Donate Blood This Holiday Season,
Bring Home Tyler the Holiday Bear

December 16-20, 2012

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Volunteer donors who give the gift of life this holiday season from Sunday, December 16th through Thursday, December 20th at a Community Blood Services� donor center in New Jersey or at the Florida, New York blood drive can bring home Tyler the Holiday Bear.

Adorable Tyler, a super-soft stuffed bear with a checkered ribbon around his neck, is being offered by Community Blood Services as a thank you to donors willing to take time out of their busy holiday schedules to donate and help save the lives of patients at their community hospitals.

In New Jersey, donors can donate at the Paramus donor center, 970 Linwood Avenue West, on Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday or at the Lincoln Park center, 63 Beaverbrook Road, Suite 304 on Monday or Wednesday. Or they can donate in New York at the Florida Fire Department blood drive on Thursday, December 20. Community Blood Services is closed on Christmas Day.

You can (click here) for hours of operation or (click here) to schedule your donation online. Or you can call 866-228-1500 for hours or to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome but an appointment is needed to donate platelets

�Donating blood, platelets or plasma during the holiday season is a wonderful gift for donors to give during this season of giving,� said Patrice Foresman, director of donor recruitment. �In return, donors can give Tyler as a gift to a loved one.�

Foresman noted the blood supply dips every holiday season because donors are busy traveling, holiday shopping and attending holiday events. Wintry weather and donors suffering from colds or flu also can diminish the blood supply.

Type O negative and B negative donors, as well as male plasma donors with AB or O blood, are especially needed every day in order to meet the needs of patients at area hospitals, Foresman explained. She said Type O negative blood must constantly be replenished because, as the universal blood type which can be used for any donor in need, it is in most in demand by hospitals. Foresman said B negative blood also must constantly be replenished because only 2 percent of the population has this blood type.

In addition, male donors with AB positive type blood are universal donors of plasma, the liquid portion of blood. AB positive plasma is often used in emergencies, for newborns, and for patients requiring massive transfusions. Type O male plasma donors are also needed, and platelets are needed to treat patients diagnosed with cancer or other blood disorders.

Community Blood Services, a not-for-profit organization, provides blood and blood products to more than 15 hospitals in New Jersey and New York.

Whole blood donors must be 17-75 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds. When they donate, donors will receive complimentary health screenings, including cholesterol, glucose, and hemoglobin.