Give blood during holidays

With the winter holiday season in full swing, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) is calling on the community to please set aside a time to donate blood. The holidays are a time when blood supply decreases while emergency needs remain the same. It is also a time when it becomes more difficult to find precise blood matches for those that are very sick.
December is also Aplastic Anemia Awareness Month. Aplastic anemia is a rare and serious condition where bone marrow does not produce enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body. It can affect people of any age. People with severe or very severe cases are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding.
Patients with blood cancers and rare anemia are dependent upon transfusions of donated blood and platelets to keep them alive.
Rafaelo Carone was diagnosed with leukemia just weeks before his third birthday. With a very rare blood type found in less than two percent of the population, his condition and need for blood became critical just days before Christmas, when blood donations and blood supply are down.
“Some very nice people, with a crazy hectic schedule of holiday shopping and visiting with family, thought of someone else, and they gave my son the gift of life,” said Andrea Carone, Rafaelo’s mother. “They made the time - they took the time out of their schedules to give my son the most special gift that anyone can ever give on Christmas, and that was a blood donation.”
NYBC thanks every individual blood donor and the wide variety of organizations that sponsor blood drives throughout the busy and often distracting holiday season. To donate blood, please call Toll Free 800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org