New York Blood Donations Needed After Winter Storm Depletes Supply

The New York Blood Center has issued an emergency appeal for New Yorkers to roll up their sleeves and give blood.

Although New York City was spared the worst of the winter storm that buried a chunk of the Northeast earlier this month, there was enough snow to seriously hamper attendance at blood drives.

"We take this seriously," Rob Purvis, Vice President of the NYBC told Newsday. "We only [declare an emergency] when we need action. It will probably take a couple of weeks to get back to where we want to be."

The NYBC says that demand of O-Negative type blood is particularly high.

Blood centers were also critically hurt following Hurricane Sandy, as nearly 300 drives in 14 states were forced to cancel, resulting in 9,000 blood and platelet donations lost.

Want to give blood? You can find a blood drive in your neighborhood here.

To gain a better understanding of the crucial importance of blood drives, NYBC has produced a video interview of a man who was hit by a taxi last year and depended on the blood donations of 70 people to survive. Watch below: