LYNN — The Fire Department held a blood drive at its headquarters Thursday morning in collaboration with the Blood Donor Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Firefighter Ryan Newhall said the department and the donor center were able to book all 26 appointment spots this week.
The drive ran from 11 a.m to 5 p.m.
“At the beginning of the week we only had about four participants signed up for the drive,” Newhall said. “Then we managed to book every one. Usually, we would have more than just 26, but due to COVID-19 there are some space restrictions.”
Fire Chief Stephen Archer said this was the eighth drive the department has hosted and he is planning on holding more throughout the year.
“The fact that we jumped from four donors to 26 shows that there is a ton of enthusiasm to donate blood,” Archer said.
Additionally, Archer said he would be donating blood at the drive later on that day.
Following the Red Cross declaring a national blood-shortage crisis in January, the Blood Donor Center reached out to the department to help host the drive. All participants were welcome but those who have Type O and O+ blood were encouraged to donate.
Type O blood is classified as the universal blood donor type.
The blood drive was conducted in the Blood Donor Center’s “Bloodmobile”— a bus where donors come in and have their blood drawn.
“We’re trying to get as much blood as we can during this drive,” said Lisa Alvarez of Boston Children’s who ran the blood drive. “This is a blood drive we did in the past and it’s a good area for us to be in.”
Alvarez said the cause for the blood shortage was due to COVID-19. During the beginning of the pandemic, blood drives and donations were put on hold as doctors were called to the front lines to help in hospitals. Due to the pause in drives, blood supplies began to run low, leading the Red Cross to declare a national blood-shortage crisis in January.
Alvarez said the “Bloodmobile” also faced technical problems in the past.
Now, there is a renewed effort to donate blood in Lynn and everyone, from firefighters, to city employees and residents all had the chance to participate in the drive. Some individuals were denied a chance to donate due to all the reservations being booked in advance online.
The first donor at the site was Richard Avery, who works for Lynn’s Community Development Department. Avery said his blood is Type O. He came to the drive after finding out about the blood shortage and decided to help those in need.
“This isn’t my first blood drive,” Avery said. “I donated to the Red Cross in the past.”
Avery said he hoped more people would be inspired to show up for the rest of the day.
