Donate blood at South Nassau Communities Hospital’s Emergency Blood Drive

In response to the ongoing critical blood shortage on Long Island, South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside will hold an emergency blood drive on July 14 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call South Nassau’s Human Resources Department at (516) 632-4080. For medical questions concerning blood donations call 1-800-688-0900.

Eligible blood donors must:

■ Bring ID with signature or photo

■ Weigh at least 110 lbs.

■ Be between the ages of 16 and 75 (16-year-olds must have parental permission. Age 76 and over need a doctor’s note).

■ Eat well (low fat) and drink fluids before donating blood

■ Have had no tattoos put on their body for past 12 months.

According to America’s Blood Centers:

1. More than 4.5 million patients need blood transfusions each year in the U.S. and Canada.

2. Someone needs blood every two seconds.

3. About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood.

4. One pint of blood can save up to three lives.

5. Much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.

6. Children being treated for cancer, premature infants and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types, especially Type O.

7. The No. 1 reason blood donors say they give is because they “want to help others.”

8. If all blood donors gave three times a year, blood shortages would be a rare event (the current average is about two).

9. If only one more percent of all Americans would give blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.