By Albert Silvestri
“People just think 'I don't want to donate blood, it's just too hot out.' People get lethargic and they'd rather go to the beach than donate,” said Harvey Schaffler, director of marketing for New York Blood Center. New York Blood Center, which serves 13 area hospitals including Queens Hospital Center and Elmhurst General Hospital, is one of the largest non-profit, community-based blood centers in the nation.”The demand for blood is constant. During the summer it's slim pickings and blood goes out faster than it comes in,” Schaffler said. Schaffler pointed to several other reasons besides the heat, including schools being out of session (schools are historically one of the biggest supporters of blood drives), a lack of air conditioning at donation sites and summer vacationing. In comparison to past years, this summer has been particularly bad with supplies at 35-40 percent of what they need to be. The Queens community requires 600 volunteer donations each week to ensure patient transfusion needs are met at local hospitals, according to Schaffler.”We have to think of it like a car,” said Schaffler. “You can run it low, but you don't want to be on the highway when you hit empty.”Earlier this year, the New York State Department of Health granted New York Blood Center a variance, allowing it to accept donations from 16-year-olds with written parental permission. The new measure could bring in an estimated 10,000 donations a year. The previous minimum age was 17.”We're heading into that low time of year,” Sheila McGann, associate director of blood donor programs at Elmhurst General Hospital, said. “We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel.”Elmhurst General and its affiliates in the Queens Health Network collect 40 percent of their blood independently with the rest provided by New York Blood Center, said McGann.”We have held our own blood drives with employees and community groups, such as CUNY Law School, Queens College and Bulova Corporate Center, anything to help the decreasing supply,” McGann said.On Monday, Cliff Floyd and Aaron Heilman of the New York Mets visited New York Hospital Queens to encourage blood donation. Elmhurst General is open for blood donations Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and until 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday nights. No appointments are necessary. New York Blood Center urges eligible donors to call 1-800-933-BLOOD or go to www.nybloodcenter.org to schedule an immediate appointment.
