FIRE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA
KICKS OFF BLOOD DONATION CAMPAIGN AT
JACOBI MEDICAL CENTER WITH NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER
AND BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT ADOLFO CARRION

Bronx Firehouses Pitch in to Encourage Blood Donation in the Community

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta tomorrow will be joined by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Dr. Joseph Orlando of Jacobi Medical Center and Robert Purvis, Executive Director of the New York Blood Center (NYBC) to kick-off the first phase of a blood donation campaign in the Bronx. Last January, Commissioner Scoppetta announced a new community partnership campaign with New York Blood Center that included an outreach program through firehouses and EMS stations across the city. The goal of the program is to increase public awareness about the importance of blood donations, in particular, for burn victims. The Bronx is the first borough to implement the initiative.

Firehouses and EMS stations in the Bronx will make available to the public bilingual information about the importance of blood donation, how to donate blood and even how to start your own community blood drive. Signs will be prominently displayed near each Fire Department location.

Throughout the years, the Fire Department has encouraged its members to donate blood as well as other blood products such as blood platelets and bone marrow. To date, the FDNY is the single-largest bone marrow registry group with more than 8,000 firefighters registered.

Contact: Francis X. Gribbon / Virginia Lam (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny