TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey health officials are urging residents to donate blood as the region faces a critical shortage during the winter months, when donations often decline even as demand for blood products rises.
With National Blood Donor Month underway, the New Jersey Department of Health thanked regular donors and encouraged eligible residents to give blood, noting that each donation can help up to three people who need transfusions for surgeries, emergencies or treatment for serious illness.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a proclamation designating January as Blood Donor Month in New Jersey, the department said.
New Jersey Blood Services has declared a blood emergency after donations dropped 40% in recent weeks, officials said, leaving some blood types — including O-negative and B-negative — at “dangerously low” levels, with less than a two-day supply across the organization’s service region.
“Each time an individual makes the simple but profoundly important choice to donate blood, they are helping to save the lives of people they may never meet,” said Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown. “Our health care system relies on these everyday heroes, and I encourage all eligible New Jerseyans to schedule their first donation today and commit to donating blood at least four times in 2026. Together, we can prevent blood shortages.”
The department said fewer than 5% of eligible New Jersey residents participate in a blood drive each year, while the need remains constant. Nationally, someone requires a blood transfusion every two seconds, officials said. Type O-negative blood is especially critical because it can be used as the universal blood type in trauma situations.
Health officials also said donated blood is increasingly being used sooner — including in prehospital settings — as paramedics deliver transfusions closer to the point of injury. The department said it issued waivers in 2024 authorizing prehospital whole blood programs, allowing EMS teams to administer blood in the field or while transporting patients to hospitals.
Blood products cannot be manufactured and have limited shelf lives, the department said, meaning hospitals and blood banks rely on volunteer donors to maintain stable supplies.
Officials noted residents can donate several types of blood products, depending on eligibility, including whole blood, platelets, plasma and double red cells. Whole blood donation typically takes about an hour and can be given every 56 days, while platelets may be donated weekly and plasma about every 28 days, the department said.
