New York, NY – The New York Giants, New York Jets and MetLife Stadium are partnering with the New York Blood Center to host a blood drive on Thursday, May 28th. The drive will take place in the United Rentals Club at MetLife Stadium from Noon to 8:00 p.m. Donors are required to schedule appointments in advance in order to maintain social distancing. New York Blood Center hopes to collect 300 units of blood from participating donors, enough to treat 1,000 patients in need.
The region's blood supply is currently at dangerously low levels as communities begin to reopen. Before COVID-19, mobile blood drives hosted by schools, organizations, and businesses made up around 75% of the region's incoming blood supply, but all drives had to be cancelled during the past several months. New York Blood Center recently began hosting a limited number of drives again, however they are far from the number of drives per month needed at area hospitals.
"The blood supply is vital to treating patients and our overall healthcare system. These donors will help replenish the blood supply and save lives at a critical time," said Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Executive Director Recruitment and Marketing. "Thank you to the New York Giants, New York Jets and MetLife Stadium for hosting a blood drive at this critical time and ensuring that the blood supply will soon become stable."
Donating blood is safe and it only takes one hour. We are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they're experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions is available here.
The drive will take place from 12pm – 8pm on Thursday, May 28th at MetLife Stadium (One MetLife Stadium Drive), East Rutherford, NJ. Donors should park in Lot A and enter at the Bud Light Gate. The blood drive will be held on the 4th floor in the United Rentals Club.
Donations are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling 1-800-933-2566 or visiting www.nybc.org/metlife.
About New York Blood Center: Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. NYBC, along with its operating divisions Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), collect approximately 4,000 units of blood products each day and serve local communities of more than 75 million people in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), Mid Atlantic area (PA, DE, MD, VA), Missouri and Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Southern New England. NYBC and its operating divisions also provide a wide array of transfusion-related medical services to over 500 hospitals nationally, including Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the National Center for Blood Group Genomics, the National Cord Blood Program, and the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, which — among other milestones — developed a practical screening method for hepatitis B as well as a safe, effective and affordable vaccine, and a patented solvent detergent plasma process innovating blood-purification technology worldwide.
