Urgent Need for Blood Donors Continues
Community Blood Services Issues Urgent Appeal

Winter 2015

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There is an urgent, critical need for volunteer blood donors at Community Blood Services as a result of this winter�s stormy weather, frigid temperatures and donor illnesses.

�We continue to have less than a one-day supply on our shelves, and urgently need blood donors to schedule their appointments now so we can continue to meet the needs of patients in our community hospitals,� said Karen Ferriday, director of community affairs at Community Blood Services, based in Montvale, New Jersey.

Ferriday said canceled blood drives and donor appointments this winter have resulted in the inability to collect hundreds of life-giving units of blood. The supply also was impacted by the inability to import blood to supplement the supply because continuous bad weather across the nation has canceled delivery flights and blood centers that usually provide help also are facing shortages.

All eligible blood donors are asked to call 201-251-3703 now to schedule appointments at the Paramus, Lincoln Park, Montvale, the just opened Parsippany donor center in New Jersey or at another convenient mobile blood drive or donation site in the New Jersey or New York area. Donors also can click here to schedule online.

All types are needed but the need for Type O negative and platelets, as well as AB male plasma for a patient in a local hospital, is especially critical, Ferriday said.

O negative blood donors represent only 7% of the population so the supply must constantly be replenished, Ferriday said. Type O negative blood is in most demand by hospitals because they are "universal donors" whose blood can be transfused into anyone in emergency rooms and trauma situations when there is no time for blood typing.

Ferriday said platelets, used to treat cancer patients and patients with other blood disorders, are also urgently needed. The center must collect at least 55 platelets each day to meet patients� needs at local hospitals and has been falling short of that goal.

Another way community members can help is to schedule a blood drive during February and March with their organization, business, school or place of worship to help rebuild the supply. Call 201-389-0409 for more information or to schedule your drive.

Community Blood Services provides blood and blood products to more than 30 hospitals, medical centers and trauma centers in New Jersey and New York, including HackensackUMC hospitals (NJ), St. Joseph�s Healthcare System in Paterson/Wayne (NJ), The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood (NJ), Atlantic Health System hospitals (NJ) and Orange Regional Medical Center (NY).