1K Lives Saved By Bayside Blood Drives Amid 'Blood Emergency'

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A series of blood drives at a Bayside hotel have helped save over 1,000 lives, the New York Blood Center announced.

Bayside's Adria Hotel and Conference Center, located near Northern Boulevard and the Cross Island Expressway, has hosted seven blood drives since May 2020, amounting to 608 blood donations — which is equivalent to 1,824 lives saved, according to the city's blood center.

These donations come amid the latest "blood emergency" in the region, which has consistently struggled to keep its blood supply stable amid the pandemic.

Andrea Cefarelli, senior executive director at New York Blood Center, said that the past 21 months has been one of the "most difficult times for our organization and blood supply."

Shortages began right after the onset of the pandemic, when the region's blood supply dropped from its usual week's supply to a three-day level as people went into lockdown.

Since then, though, the crisis has only worsened: At the beginning of December, the region's blood supply dropped to an "especially dire" one to two day level as the omicron variant and winter travel season made giving blood "less of a priority" for most, Cefarelli said.

In response to this mounting crisis, the Adria hosted a blood drive during the first week of January.

"If not for the Adria opening their doors to us, NYBC would likely not have been able to receive those life saving donations for patients in need because of the number of blood drives that have been canceled over the past two years," said Cefarelli.

Blood drive cancellations at peoples' places of work and schools (compounded with people being wary of giving blood during the pandemic) has made it harder for the organization to stock up on blood, too.

NYBC, however, said it is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at its events, noting that donating blood only takes one hour.

And, some organizations are throwing in deal-sweeteners, in an attempt to encourage donations.

NYBC has given out gift cards for blood donations in the past, a promotion that the Red Cross is continuing in the month of February (Red Cross donors who give blood before the end of January can get a free Krispy Kreme doughnut dozen, too).

To donate blood locally check out the NYBC's nearby blood drives or blood drives hosted by the Red Cross.

This article originally appeared on the Bayside-Douglaston Patch