Princeton Police to host blood drive with health department Oct. 7

The Princeton Police Department and the Princeton Health Department are hosting a blood drive that will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 at the Suzanne Patterson Building. The building is located behind Monument Hall at 1 Monument Drive at the intersection of Route 206 and Route 27 in the center of Princeton.

The Red Cross will be conducting the blood drive. You can sign up to donate blood online at redcrossblood.org. The code for the Princeton blood drive is “princetonpolice.” Enter the code in the search box on the homepage (our link takes you directly to the sign up so you can skip this if you follow our link above.)

According to the Red Cross, national blood supplies have dropped to the lowest levels since 2015. Hospitals are responding to an atypically high number of traumas and emergency room visits. In comparison with 2019, the Red Cross has seen red cell demand from hospitals with trauma centers climb by 10% in 2021 – more than five times the growth of other facilities that provide transfusions. There has also been a great hospital demand for blood as patients who previously deferred care during the COVID-19 pandemic present with more advanced disease progression, requiring increased blood transfusions.