Blood Drive Aims to Increase Stocks

A yearly drop in blood supply stocks is the reason for area blood drives, including one in Hillsborough Sunday.

“This is a time when we try to build our inventory so we can sustain the yearly drop in the supply that occurs right after Memorial Day,” Marie Forrestal, Director of Donor Recruitment for New Jersey Blood Services, said.

The Hillsborough Drive begins at 8 a.m. Sunday at Temple Beth El on Route 206 and concludes at 2 p.m.  Residents can donate at age 16 with parent consent, and those age 76 and older can donate with a doctor’s note.  Donors must be at least 110 pounds and in good health.

Since blood drives at colleges and high schools tend to make a portion of the blood bank’s supply, the service intends to hold as many school-based drives as it can.  After school goes on break, the service hopes to reach that population through local drives.

 “After Memorial Day, we will be looking for as many Bloodstock Scholarship blood drives as possible,” Forrestal added. “These drives help us reach the high school and College population that make up 25 percent of our blood supply.  When school isn’t in session, we lose these important donors unless we can recapture them at blood drives in their community.”

Though all blood types are needed, the blood bank has a particularly high demand for types O positive, O negative, A negative and B negative.

The blood bank supplies between 40 and 50 hospitals in New Jersey with blood, including 40 percent of the blood needs at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville.  The blood and blood components can be used for trauma treatments, cancer treatments and other medical needs.