The onset of a new year presents a natural opportunity for us to reassess our lives and set out to
make positive changes. The practice of making “New Year’s Resolutions” aimed at improving
ourselves and our lives dates all the way back to ancient Babylonia. Today, polling shows that
40% of Americans make a New Year’s Resolution each year. Many of us will be making
personal commitments to eat healthier, exercise more, or spend more time with our families.
These are all commendable endeavors, but we should also consider making one simple promise
that will greatly impact someone truly in need: a resolution to donate blood at least once in 2026.
My office has teamed up with the New York Blood Center to host a local blood drive at Town
Hall Friday, January 9th, from 10am – 4pm. If you are able, I ask you to please take a few
minutes of your time to help save lives through blood donation. The drive will be held in Town
Hall, 10 Maple Avenue, New City on the 3rd floor. Donors are encouraged to sign-up for a time
to donate by going online to www.nybc.org or calling the Supervisor’s office at (845) 639-2050.
Walk-ins are welcome too. Those with O-negative blood type, or “universal donors,” are
especially encouraged to attend, as their blood can be transfused into anyone in a trauma
situation.
Donating blood is a selfless act of charity and the most time efficient way to make a tremendous
impact for the lives of others. In fact, one blood donation has a multiplier effect of saving more
than just one life, because your blood can be separated into individual components. The entire
process takes less than an hour. Produced in the bone marrow, blood is typically collected as
“whole blood” and then separated into its unique components: platelets, red cells, and plasma.
Each can deliver a lifesaving benefit to someone in need.
There is no substitute for blood. Even with all the remarkable technology we have in modern
medicine, blood components cannot be synthetically made and can only come from volunteer
donors. It’s the blood on the shelves today that saves lives, which is why donors are needed to
give regularly. Nearly 2,000 donations are needed each day in New York and New Jersey alone.
About one in seven hospital admissions requires a blood transfusion. With a limited shelf life,
supplies must be continually replenished, and our highly populated area creates a high demand
for blood. Those in need include cancer patients, accident, burn or trauma victims, newborn
babies, mothers delivering babies, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused
patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.
New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the largest independent, community-based blood
centers in the country. Each year, NYBC provides approximately one million blood products to
nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast. NYBC also provides a wide array of transfusion-related
medical services. NYBC is also home to the world’s largest public cord blood bank, which
provides stem cells for transplant in many countries, and a renowned research institute, which –
among other milestones — developed the Hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification
technology. None of this is possible without donations.
I encourage everyone to make a “New Year’s Resolution” this year to donate blood. Your
contribution will help make a difference in our community. Please consider joining me in
donating on January 9th. You, and someone in need, will be glad you did.
