Since May 2020, the Adria Hotel and Conference Center in Bayside has hosted seven blood drives for a total of 608 blood donations, which is the equivalent to 1,824 lives saved, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Adria, located at 221-17 Northern Blvd., hosted its first blood drive in May of 2020, collecting more than 170 donations.
Since then, the Adria has become a key partner in the New York Blood Center’s (NYBC) fight to replenish the blood supply, hosting several blood drives each year by donating its ballroom and other large spaces. The Adria hosted these blood drives all while providing rooms to local and visiting hospital staff in the New York area who were on the front lines of the pandemic.
“If not for the Adria opening their doors to us, NYBC would likely not have been able to receive those lifesaving donations for patients in need because of the number of blood drives that have been canceled over the past two years,” said Andrea Cefarelli, senior executive director at NYBC. “We are incredibly grateful for their support and generous partnership throughout some of the most difficult times for our organization and blood supply. As New York continues to experience chronic shortages, we are calling on those who are able and healthy to make a donation today.”
Catherine De Lucia, general manager of The Adria, said they’re proud to continue doing their part to help the city in its time of need.
“Since the pandemic began, we were advised by the New York Blood Center of the dire situation the city was dealing with. As hospitals filled, the blood bank was running low. The Adria was asked to donate its facilities for several blood drives in an attempt to maintain blood inventories. While we have had our own trials and tribulations during this pandemic, we thought it was important to help. We love our city and its people,” De Lucia said.
Recently, the Adria hosted a blood drive at the beginning of the new year after hearing about the blood emergency declared by NYBC at the beginning of December 2021, stating that the region’s blood supply is critically low.
This time of year is always challenging for the blood supply, as holiday plans and travel make donating blood less of a priority and winter weather can lead to blood drive cancellations. This year, those challenges coincided with a new wave of the pandemic, as the nationwide surge in omicron cases has caused low donor turnout and cancellations of blood drives. In addition to this, the past two years have prompted many blood drive cancellations due to school closures, remote work and hesitancy to donate blood amid COVID-19 cases.
Prior to the pandemic, 50,000 annual blood donations were made at high schools, but increase in COVID-19 cases and uncertainty about a switch to remote learning has made it nearly impossible for them to host blood drives.
Donating blood is safe and only takes one hour. The New York Blood Center is taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. All NYBC staff are vaccinated. People are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms. People can donate blood regardless of vaccination status. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions is available here.
To make an appointment at a blood drive near you, individuals can call 800-933-2566 or visit nybc.org.
