New York Mets To Hold Blood Drive In Astoria

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The New York Mets will hold a blood drive in Astoria next week, and donors get to take home baseball tickets and other Mets swag.

The blood drive will take place Thursday at Rivercrest on Ditmars Boulevard, in partnership with the New York Blood Center.

Donors will receive vouchers for a pair of tickets to see the Mets and a limited-edition t-shirt and will be entered into a sweepstakes for signed Mets memorabilia.

The blood drive is among five taking place that day across Queens as an alternative to the semi-annual blood drive the Mets typically hold at Citi Field that can better meet pandemic protocol for social distancing and crowds.

The drives come as New York suffers from a chronic deficit in blood donations, after most schools and community groups canceled blood drives since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the New York Blood Center.

“We’re in a new year and though we have put 2020 behind us, the challenges presented by the pandemic still very much exist," Andrea Cefarelli, the New York Blood Center's senior executive director of recruitment and marketing, said in a statement. “The vaccine has shown us a light at the end of the tunnel, but we need New Yorkers to come together to help build and sustain the blood supply."

The Astoria blood drives will run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Donors are encouraged to make an appointment online.