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New York Medical College Raises Awareness for Emergency Blood Donor Shortage

“Every three seconds, someone in this country needs a lifesaving blood transfusion,..."

Valhalla, N.Y., August 17, 2016 – New York Medical College (NYMC) today announced that it will participate in the international Missing Type Campaign 2016, a global initiative which seeks to reverse the decline in blood donation. This year, 21 countries are involved, representing more than one billion of the world’s population. The campaign is based on the help of high profile organizations, brands, celebrities and influencers, who by removing the letters A, O, and B from their signage, signatures, postings, and publications are raising awareness for the blood shortage. Since the letters represent the most major blood types, the removal of them shows that their supply is at risk of being depleted without an adequate amount of new donors added annually.

This shortage is especially problematic in NYMC’s home state of New York, where there is currently an emergency level of blood shortage. The New York Blood Center alone requires more than 2,000 volunteer blood donations each day to meet the transfusion needs of the patients in close to 200 New York and New Jersey hospitals. Without these donors, the entire Greater New York area faces chronic blood shortage.

“Many people go through their daily lives unaware of how vital blood donation is,” said Edward Halperin, CEO of New York Medical College. “Every three seconds, someone in this country needs a lifesaving blood transfusion, and without donors of these major blood types we face a severely debilitating medical crisis. I encourage all to help in any way possible—whether by signing up to donate blood or by spreading the word and removing A, O and B from your signatures and public posts throughout the campaign.”

Members of the larger NYMC community posed for a picture in front of the college sign which had the A, O, and B’s missing throughout it, and are also participating by removing the letters from the college’s twitter handle, social media posts, and many email signatures. The NYMC Blood Drive will be held on Tuesday, September 6^th from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm in the Basic Sciences Building.

About New York Medical College

Founded in 1860, NYMC is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the country with more than 1,400 students, 1,300 residents and clinical fellows, nearly 3,000 faculty members, and 16,000 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers advanced degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences and Practice. With a network of affiliated hospitals that includes large urban medical centers, small suburban clinics and high-tech regional tertiary care facilities, NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities throughout the tri-state region for medical students, residents, and other health providers.