January 26, 2026
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The American Red Cross is offering $20 gift cards to people who donate blood or platelets until Wednesday.
New Jersey extended its blood shortage emergency for another two weeks after severe winter weather brought life-saving donations to a halt, and the American Red Cross is offering $20 gift cards to people who donate blood or platelets from now until Wednesday.
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Winter Storm Fern, which covered roughly a 2,000-mile stretch in the country and dumped over 9 inches of snow in the Philadelphia area, caused approximately 200 blood drives to be cancelled over the course of the weekend, which resulted in over 7,000 blood and platelet donations going uncollected, according to the American Red Cross.
“This storm could not have come at a worse time,” Jeannie Mascolini, vice president of blood operations at New York Blood Center and New Jersey Blood Services, said in a statement. “We were just starting to rebuild the blood supply when nearly 2,000 lifesaving donations were lost in a matter of days.”
The organization first declared the blood emergency on Jan. 6 after the winter holidays and the lingering impacts of a strong flu season caused a 40% decline in donations, leaving the roughly 200 hospitals it services with less than a two-day supply of resources.
Anyone at least 16 years old and 110 pounds can donate blood every 56 days as long as they are in good health and feeling generally well. Additional eligibility requirements are in effect for platelet or Power Red donations. People who want to donate can find the nearest center to them online or by calling 1-800-933-2566.
From Monday to Wednesday, donors who give blood or platelets will be eligible to receive a $20 gift card to a merchant of their choosing if they schedule their appointments online, the Red Cross said Monday morning.
“Patients don’t get a snow day,” Mascolini said. “Surgeries, cancer treatments, traumas and emergencies continue and we need donors to help us recover.”
