Blood Drive at Citi Field

**MEDIA ADVISORY***

NYBC Hosts the Mets Summer Blood Drive

Participating donors to receive a pair of Mets tickets to a home game and help replenish the community’s supply during the current blood emergency.

 

New York, NY (June 28, 2016) – New York Blood Center (NYBC) will host the annual Mets Summer Blood Drive at Citi Field Stadium. Since 2009, the Mets Blood Drives at Citi Field have collected more than 6,000 pints of blood.  All participating blood donors will receive a voucher for a pair of tickets to a select 2016 Mets for select home games in July and August. Mr. Met, the beloved Mets mascot, will greet and cheer for donors.

 

Currently, the New York metro is in the midst of a blood emergency, as declared by NYBC last week, and the public is urged to donate all blood types to nearby drives, NYBC centers or mobile units, helping to replenish the community’s supply and need of life-saving blood products.

 

To donate blood or for information on how to organize a blood drive
Please call Toll Free: 1-800-933-2566
Visit: www.nybloodcenter.org/blood

 

When:
June 28, 2016
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: Citi Field, Hodges VIP Entrance

Parking Lot G
123-01 Roosevelt Avenue
New York, NY 11368

 

For Media: 12:00 p.m. – Mr. Met will cheer donors on and is available for photos/video.

 

 

More About Blood Donations

The entire donation process takes less than an hour and a single donation can be used to save multiple lives. Donors with O-negative blood type, or “universal donors,” are especially encouraged to donate, as their blood can be used in emergencies. 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, and with a limited shelf life, supplies must be continually replenished.

If you cannot donate but still wish to participate in bringing crucial blood products to patients in need, please ask someone to donate for you, or consider volunteering at a local blood drive.

Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may host a blood drive. Blood donors receive free mini-medical exams on site including information about their temperature, blood pressure and hematocrit level. Eligible donors include those people at least age 16 (parental consent is required for 16-year-olds), who weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, are in good health and meet all Food & Drug Administration and NY or NJ State Department of Health donor criteria. People age 76 or older may donate if they have a doctor’s note on file with New York Blood Center or if they bring one on the day of the blood drive.

About New York Blood Center

Now more than 50 years old, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the country. NYBC’s mission is to serve the 20 million people in the New York metropolitan area — and more broadly, our nation and our world — by alleviating human suffering and preserving human life using our medical expertise.

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’s National Cord Blood Program (NCBP) at the Howard P. Milstein Cord Blood Center is the 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. Website:  nybc.org

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter

Twitter:  @NYBloodCenter

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