75-day blood drive in NJ with goal of collecting 6,000 pints of blood

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. (PIX11) - The need is urgent, and the response, so far, is strong. RWJBarnabas Health said hospitals in its system are suffering a shortage of blood and platelets, including an emergency shortage of Type-O blood.

They said some hospitals only have a one-day supply, which Rheumatologist Dr. Pooja Patel is thinking about as she donates her blood.

"This was an excellent opportunity for me to just come in and do my part," said Patel. "It's small, but I think it's meaningful."

There's never anything small about giving blood; one pint, doctors say, could save up to three lives.

But now underway at the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Robbinsville, Mercer County, one of the largest temples in North America, is a blood drive of epic proportions: a 75-day marathon of collection that anyone, anywhere, can join in on.

"Blood does not see color, creed, race, religion, or ethnicity," Dr. Rajmayur Brahmbhatt, a physician at nearby RWJ University Hospital Hamilton and event volunteer. "Blood is blood is blood, and when someone needs blood to save a life, they need blood to save a life."

BAPS Charities said they aim to collect 6,000 pints of blood, which they said could save up to 18,000 lives.

"When we have drives such as this that come along, that is an incredible benefit to the end user, which will be the patient at the end of the day," said Brahmbhatt.

"The length of this drive is really unprecedented," said Michael Leviton of RWJBarnabas Health. "Many people are on vacation, holiday, but the need for blood does not take a vacation," said Leviton. "The impact will be felt not just today or tomorrow or through the summer, but through the lives of that everyone that receives these blood donations."