Blood Banks In Need Of Donations This Holiday Season

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Blood banks are asking people to help give the gift of life this holiday season.

Andrea Cefarelli, executive director of donor recruitment with the New York Blood Center, said people donate less blood around this time of year.

Listen to Blood Banks In Need Of Donations This Holiday Season

"Thanksgiving marks the start of the difficult holiday period and Mother Nature this year packed a punch with a northern storm, which impacted blood drives on Wednesday," she told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.

Cefarelli said they're usually good throughout the first two weeks of December.

"And then no organization really wants to run a blood drive as we get close to the end of December holiday," she said.

Cefarelli added that the whole process takes about an hour, plus donors get cookies and juice after they've done their good deed.

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