January is National Blood Donor Month, and officials with the New York Blood Center are encouraging New Yorkers to donate amid a citywide blood shortage.  

According to organizers with the New York Blood Center, the city is currently in a blood emergency. They say a normal healthy supply is about seven days’ worth, but that dropped to four to five days’ worth during the pandemic. Now they’re at a single day's supply.  

“Being at a one to two day supply with certain blood types, it really means that if… there’s an emergency or some sort of tragedy where there’s a large amount of blood products needed in a short amount of time, we may find ourselves in a challenging position,” said Yadira Navarro, director of the New York Blood Center.  

Navarro says the holiday season and cold weather contribute to a lack of donors during this time of year, and that while 60% of the population is eligible to donate, only 2 to 3% do.