There’s a simple way to help out this holiday season – give blood. And donors can get something back too – because until New Year’s Eve, New Yorkers will be eligible for one of 50 prizes after they donate.
The pandemic has created a chronic shortage of blood needed for patients served by the New York Blood Center, and GiveBloodNYC is a new campaign aimed at encouraging 25,000 blood, plasma, and platelet donations throughout the season of giving.
To spread the word, take a photo as you donate at a donor center or blood drive location – share it on social media and add the hashtag #GiveBloodNYC. Among the prizes on offer are New York Jets tickets, Empire State Building tickets and Krispy Kreme donuts for a year.
Dr. Christopher D. Hillyer, President and CEO of New York Blood Center, told NBC New York, “we need about 2,000 donations a day and 25,000 additional donations this coming month.”
He added: “This next wave of COVID and the weather and the holiday season makes it very much more difficult to collect blood. Typically, we do so in office buildings, churches and synagogues, schools, universities, all basically closed. We need you to come out to our fixed site centers on our website and make a donation plan and timed appointment.
“Mothers delivering babies, babies who are premature, surgeries, cancer patients, all these patients need blood… we need everyone to come out at this critical juncture so that we don’t move from critical shortage to dangerous shortage.”
How You Can Enter:
– Schedule an appointment at nybc.org/donate to donate at one of New York Blood Center’s NYC locations before December 31.
– While you are at the donor center, take a selfie of your visit and tag New York Blood Center on social media with the hashtag #GiveBloodNYC.
– Visit www.nybc.org/givebloodNYC to fill out the entry form.
I gave blood a week ago at the Port Authority center. They are always so nice there, the place is clean & safe. I didn’t know about this contest, but they handed me a tee-shirt with my juice & cookies. I’m happy with that. I hope people start to realize giving blood isn’t hard, and it does so much good!
Good for W42! Giving blood is SO EASY and it’s SO APPRECIATED! I’m post-70 years old, have been a donor for decades and am still donating. A walk in the park and a piece of cake! (Although Oreos are the giveaway at NYC Blood Centers.)