Van Cortlandt Jewish Center hosts blood drive with New York Blood Center

Next time you have a chance to go along a blood donation, you should. They’ve got cookies. 

The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center held a blood drive in partnership with the New York Blood Center on Sunday, July 28. 

Shaun Breidbart donated his blood, hoping to help premature babies in need. 

“They need my blood, so I give several times a year,” he said. 

Breidbart said he thought more people would come out to donate blood as well if they knew how easy the process was.

Also, the blood center has Oreo cookies.

In fact, most all blood donations have cookies and other snacks available for donors after their blood is drawn to help replenish the calories burned while donating. According to research by AltaMed the human body uses about 500 calories while donating that will need to be replaced, hence the snacks and juice. 

The American Red Cross estimates someone in the United States is in need of blood every two seconds, and roughly 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every single day. 

Also in attendance at the Jewish center blood drive was Maybelline Amaya from the National Marrow Donation Program, an organization that oversees the marrow registry, ensuring those in need can receive life-saving transplants. 

The program’s attendance at the blood drive is in aid of looking for more potential matches and donors. 

Bone marrow transplants serve those affected by blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. For the sake of the blood drive, the marrow donation program collects cheek swabs from willing participants to learn about their tissue type, which they then hold on to for when they receive a genetic match with a patient in need of a transplant.

If a match is found, the program calls the person whose cheek was swabbed to inquire if they are willing to donate. 

The bone marrow program didn’t see much of a turnout, according to Amaya, because the crowd coming in to donate blood skewed towards the older side, while potential matches must be between 18 and 35, as those ages provide better outcomes. 

Stuart Harris, president of the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, said the center has been holding blood drives since 2019, with a brief pause for COVID, making the latest drive the center’s seventh overall. 

“It’s very important, not just for our community but anybody who needs blood,” Harris said. 

He said donations have progressed over time, with more people in attendance to donate but, in general, the summertime is slow and Harria estimated about 20 people were in attendance at the July 28 drive. 

To give blood, participants are asked to complete health histories and a mini physical in order to ensure they are a good candidate for donation. Then a whole blood donation can begin, which differs from other types of donations in that it breaks blood down into its different components after it’s drawn from the donor. 

Roughly one pint of blood is extracted and collected in test tubes, which are labeled and placed on ice before they are taken for processing. 

Now for the fun part.

Test tubes are typically put in a centrifuge, a machine that spins extremely fast in order to separate the three blood components — red cells, platelets and plasma. The chemical difference between the three means they can each be distributed for different reasons.

Red cells are needed to carry oxygen and nutrients from the lungs through the body, while platelets can help prevent and stop bleeding, and plasma transports nutrients, hormones and proteins throughout the body. 

Donated blood is also tested for type and potential infectious diseases before it can be distributed to hospitals.

New York Blood Center officials said typical tests performed on blood look for hepatitis, syphilis and West Nile Virus among other diseases. 

Once in a hospital, the separated blood is used in various transfusions. Platelets can be administered to patients who cannot produce enough of their own from illnesses, or even chemotherapy. Plasma transfusions can be given to those suffering from liver failure, severe infections or serious burns to help them recover. 

According to the American Red Cross, blood donations can also help cancer patients and bring life to trauma patients as well as individuals with sickle-cell disease and those living with chronic diseases. 

Harris said he believes people continue to show up to donate because they understand the need for it. 

“You never know when you’re going to need blood,” Harris said. “Something could happen at any point in your life, you might need a blood transfusion. It’s important that the blood supply is there for you.”

-with reporting by Alaska St. Clair