Maria Regina, the renowned all-girls Catholic high school, answered the urgent need for life-saving blood donations at its recent annual Spring Community Blood Drive. As a result of 34 successful donations, 36 units of blood were collected that will potentially save the lives of 100 patients at area hospitals, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) reported.
A heightened sense of urgency underscored this year’s drive because of the unusually severe winter that perilously reduced lifesaving blood supplies, so much so that the NYBC declared a blood shortage emergency in January which was extended after the blizzard in late February.
As in prior Maria Regina drives, this year’s campaign was hosted by the National Honor Society (NHS). Members mobilized efforts to get out the word and rally other students, families, friends, members of the administration and faculty community to roll up their sleeves for the cause.
In an email to Karen Lizzo, NHS Moderator, the NYBC wrote: “Please extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who donated, attempted to donate, or assisted in any way to help make this campaign a success.”
Principal Maria Carozza-McCaffrey (Class of ’99) noted: “Thanks to the hard work and commitment of the National Honor Society students and the generosity of the blood donors, our school proudly stepped up to help replenish blood supplies that may be used to save lives in our community, indeed potentially our neighbors, families and friends.”
The NYBC says that each donated pint of blood can save 3 lives. Donated blood is typically needed to help treat cancer patients, accident, burn, and trauma victims, newborn babies, mothers delivering babies, transplant patients, surgery patients and others in need.
The NYBC, one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world, notes on its website, www.nybc.org: ”Donating blood is easy and our blood supply relies exclusively on the generosity of volunteer blood donors. Most people qualify as a volunteer donor.”