Give Blood, the Gift of Life, to Children in Need during National Make a Difference to Children Month

Children Undergoing Medical Treatment are in Continued Need of Lifesaving Blood Products

NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Millions of children each year, including newborns, suffer from serious illnesses, injuries or handicaps. Many of them who undergo lifesaving surgery and medical treatment rely on the generous gifts of blood donations from strangers to help save their lives. National Make a Difference to Children Month, recognized each year throughout the month of July, is a great opportunity for individuals to help make a difference in the lives of children in need through blood donation.    

New York Blood Center (NYBC), serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, encourages residents throughout the communities we serve to continue to schedule appointments for blood donation during the summer months to help maintain our blood supply. Our hospitals, and in turn, their young patients, count on the generous gifts of blood donations to help save their lives.  

Every two seconds, someone needs blood.  Summer marks one of the busiest times of the year for emergency rooms and trauma centers nationwide.  But with schools closed for the summer and workers away on vacation, there are far fewer people available to donate blood.

Hospital use of blood products remains high during the summer season -- due to surgeries, emergencies and care of cancer patients.  Type O-negative blood, in particular, is used in exchange transfusions for newborn babies and pregnant women, and for premature babies in intensive care units.

You can help our young patients in need by donating blood or organizing a blood drive within your community, house of worship, or place of work.  People can donate one pint of blood every 56 days.

People with Rh-negative blood, including A-, B- and O-, comprise just 15% of the population, yet their blood can be safely transfused to the remaining 85%.  People with O-negative blood are known as "universal donors" because their blood can be transfused into anyone.  Type O-negative blood is found in just 6 percent of the population, but is used more often by patients with other blood types, especially in emergency rooms and trauma situations.

New York Blood Center (NYBC) and its regions thank every individual blood donor and the wide variety of organizations that sponsor blood drives throughout the summer months. If you cannot donate but still wish to participate in bringing lifesaving products to those in need, please consider volunteering at a local blood drive.

To donate blood, please call:

Toll Free:  1-800-933-2566

Visit:  www.nybloodcenter.org

Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may host a blood drive.  NYBC also offers special community service scholarships for students who organize community blood drives during the summer.  Blood donors receive free mini-medical exams on site including information about their temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin level.  Eligible donors include those people at least age 16 (with parental permission or consent), who weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, are in good health and meet all Food & Drug Administration and NY or NJ State Department of Health donor criteria.  People over 75 may donate with a doctor's note.

About New York Blood Center:  New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood centers. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to hospitals serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.  NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank.  NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine. Please visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter.  Follow us on Twitter: @NYBloodCenter.

SOURCE New York Blood Center