Community Corner
Levittown Fire Department Hosting Blood Drive On Jan. 26
At the drive, a boy will be able to thank one of the blood donors who helped save his life.
LEVITTOWN, NY — This week, the Levittown Fire Department will be holding a blood drive on behalf of the New York Blood Center. The fire department is a longtime partner of NYBC, and has hosted blood drives that have collected nearly 1,100 donations over the last few years.
This week's drive will be held on Jan. 26 from 2:15 to 8:15 p.m. at the fire department's building at 120 Gardiners Ave. in Levittown.
January is National Blood Donor Month, which is dedicated to honoring blood donors and encouraging donations. The winter months are a difficult time for the blood supply, as school breaks, family vacations and inclement weather all contribute to making blood donations less of a priority. Hospitals rely upon a steady flow of volunteer donors to receive life-saving blood donations, but the past two years have brought chronic blood shortages nationwide.
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At the Levittown blood drive, one recipient of blood donations will meet the man who helped save his life. Ronald Hlawaty, a member of the fire department, is a lifetime blood donor who has given more than 300 times. One of his donations went to King Singh, a boy with a rare blood disease.
Singh was born with glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency or G6PD. G6PD causes red blood cells to break down in response to certain medications, infections or other stressors. There is no cure for this disease, and the only treatment is a blood transfusion when the red cells break down. At the age of two, King was also diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer. After three and a half years of intense, daily chemotherapy treatments and blood transfusions, King is now cancer free.
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The NYBC is encouraging anyone who can to donate blood. It only takes one hour to donate, and a single donation can save multiple lives. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion. Those in need include cancer patients, burn or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients and many more.
To make an appointment at the Levittown blood drive, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit this link.
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