Delaware and New Castle County leaders join BBD for a press conference highlighting ongoing need for blood donors
STANTON, DE – Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) joined Delaware state, New Castle County, and healthcare leaders on Wednesday, January 13, for a National Blood Donor Month press conference at the BBD Christiana Donor Center, where the Governor’s official proclamation was unveiled.
January was proclaimed National Blood Donor Month by President Richard Nixon in 1970 and remains one of the most challenging times of year to maintain the blood supply. Holiday travel, winter weather, school breaks, and seasonal illness routinely reduce donor turnout, even as hospital and emergency needs remain constant.
During the event, speakers emphasized the lifesaving impact of blood donation, shared firsthand perspectives from emergency responders, and encouraged Delmarva residents to make blood donation a priority in the New Year.
The National Blood Donor Month proclamation, signed by Governor Matt Meyer and Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay, reads in part: “Whereas, blood transfusions save the lives of cancer patients, trauma victims, newborns and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, and individuals living with chronic conditions… Now, therefore, we…do hereby recognize January 2026 as National Blood Donor Month.”
BBD Vice President Kristin Frederick thanked state leadership for their support and urged residents to donate regularly to help sustain local hospital and EMS inventories.
“Without warning, anyone—including all of us in this room—could need a blood transfusion,” Frederick said. “This time of year brings added challenges like holiday travel, seasonal illness, and winter weather, which can significantly reduce donations while patient demand remains the same, if not higher.”
BBD Medical Director Dr. Bruce Sachais, who also serves as Chief Medical Officer for New York Blood Center Enterprises, emphasized the need for consistent, year-round donors. “Blood is needed every day, not just during emergencies,” Dr. Sachais said. “Our Loyal Lifesaver Programs recognize donors who commit to giving throughout the year, helping us maintain a stable supply for patients across Delmarva.”
Several speakers highlighted Delaware’s leadership in prehospital blood transfusions. Delaware EMS Medical Director Dr. Robert Rosenbaum noted that in 2024, Delaware became the first state where every paramedic agency was equipped to transfuse whole blood in the field.
“This came from the ground up. Delaware’s Office of EMS and paramedic agency leaders recognized that developing the ability to carry and transfuse whole blood to injured and bleeding patients in the field could save lives,” Dr. Rosenbaum said. “We worked with the Blood Bank of Delmarva in 2023 to become early adopters of this uncommon and complicated capability. In 2024, Delaware became the first state where every prehospital paramedic and every paramedic agency could treat patients with whole blood.
“Our paramedics have already seen critically injured patients survive and recover in situations where survival would not have been expected before whole blood was added to paramedic treatment protocols,” he added. “We encourage donors to help meet the challenge of maintaining a full supply of blood knowing that their donation helps patients in so many areas and now includes early treatment by paramedics before patients have arrived for hospital care.”
Captain Whitmarsh said that since Delaware State Police Aviation Section began its prehospital blood partnership with BBD in February 2025, it has allowed their flight paramedics to deliver lifesaving transfusions at the point of injury. Every transfusion recipient has survived to reach further care.
“I have the privilege of commanding the Delaware State Police Aviation Section, a unit that exists for one purpose: to show up on someone’s worst day and give them a fighting chance,” Captain Whitmarsh said. “In aviation and law enforcement, we often talk about mission readiness. Aircraft readiness. Crew readiness. Medical readiness. But none of that matters without community readiness.
“Blood donors are part of our mission readiness,” he added. “You are the unseen crew member on every flight. You are the quiet force multiplier. You are the reason our paramedics can act decisively instead of helplessly. National Blood Donor Month is not just about awareness—it’s about recognition. It’s about acknowledging that behind every successful trauma save is a chain of people who chose to act before the emergency ever occurred.”
New Castle County Paramedics Chief Logemann echoed those sentiments.
“Throughout my career in healthcare and public safety, I knew that blood donation was important,” Chief Logemann said. “I had seen blood administered in the emergency rooms on critically injured and ill patients and heard stories of significant transfusions in the operating rooms. I was an occasional blood donor, but did not make it a priority in life. This changed when New Castle County Paramedics began to carry whole blood in the field.”
Peyton Harter, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Delaware, told the dramatic story of how she received prehospital blood from both New Castle County Paramedics and the Delaware State Police Section at the scene of a bad car accident in April 2025.
“I remember the EMT’s keeping me grounded in the middle of chaos; the flight crew giving me encouraging words and a team of first responders whirling around the scene,” she said. “But, behind every moment of care was the gift of donated blood that kept me going long enough to reach the hospital, to heal, and to live.”
To date, BBD’s prehospital partners have transfused over 450 units of whole blood in the field, including 3 units that went to Harter.
To conclude the event, BBD Marketing Manager Jason Burlew also shared that he, too received blood during surgery, after he had been a blood donor himself for several years prior. Then, Burlew distributed BBD T-shirts to all honored guests, and he invited everyone to get a free cup of coffee from Two Friends Coffee Co. set up outside Blood Bank of Delmarva.
In light of recent updates to FDA guidance, more people than ever may now be eligible to give. Blood donors can donate every 56 days, and platelet donors can give up to twice per month. To view current eligibility guidelines, visit delmarvablood.org or call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.
