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CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Operators of the Croton Farmers Market and the New York Blood Center are urging shoppers to roll up their sleeves and donate blood Wednesday.
"Folks can go in, the bus is air conditioned, they can spend a few minutes, make a donation, and that donation could save as many as three lives," said Frankie Rowland, spokesperson for Community Markets, the company that runs the market in Croton and several others in Westchester County.
The entire blood donation process takes about an hour, according to blood bank experts, and everyone who donates at the farmers market will receive a complimentary pair of New York Mets tickets to an upcoming game at Citi Field.
"They've got a huge deficit. If on a local level we can help and save lives, then I think its a perfect fit," Rowland said about hosting blood drives at farmers markets.
Aimee Steinke, director of the blood bank at Hudson Valley Hospital Center, said late summer can be very hard on blood banks. When school is out for the summer, blood donors drop precipitously, Steinke said, because many donors are high school students.
"They're a good source of blood donations. For one thing, they're healthy, very few problems and they really enjoy doing something," she said. "It's something they can do without thinking about it too much, and once the high schools are out during the summer we lose all that."
Those with O-blood, known as "universal donors," are especially encouraged to donate. Type O-blood donors comprise about six percent of the population, and their blood is often used in emergencies when there's no time to blood-type recipients.
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