The US is experiencing an ongoing national blood crisis with the supply at its shortest in over a decade. Donated blood is critical for trauma victims in emergencies and for other medical treatments, including transfusions for people with cancer. All types are needed now, especially type O positive and O negative, as well as platelet donations.

It takes just 15 minutes to donate and can save up to three lives.

For more information, see frequently asked questions, eligibility criteria, and tips for a successful donation.

American Red Cross

Make an appointment to give blood or platelets by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Locations near Newton:

Dedham Blood Donation Center - 180 Rustcraft Road

Boston Blood Donation Center - 274 Tremont St.

Massachusetts General Hospital Blood Donor Center

Make an appointment to give blood HERE or find a local blood drive HERE.

Mass General Blood Donor Center, 55 Fruit St. (GRJ 120), Boston

Boston Children’s Hospital

The Boston Children's Blood Donor Center is an independent collection facility serving the needs of the pediatric patients in the Longwood Medical Area. This center supplies virtually all of the blood and blood products used at Boston Children's. Schedule your blood donation online at www.bostonchildrens.org/halfpints. To schedule your blood donation appointment via phone, call 617-355-6677.

Boston Children’s Hospital, 333 Longwood Ave., Boston

Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, visit the Kraft Center website or call 617-632-3206.

Kraft Family Blood Donation Center, 35 Binney St., Boston  

With over 325,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is an important skill that can save a life. It's not just for healthcare workers and emergency responders. In fact, bystander CPR can double or triple the chance of survival.

Take a CPR class with the American Red Cross

Take a CPR class with the American Heart Association

Family & Friends CPR

If you have a group (4-12 people) who is interested in a non-certification course to learn basic life-saving skills including tips on calling 911, rescue breaths, hands-only CPR, and use of an automated external defibrillator (AED); contact our Public Health Nurse Educator at health@newtonma.gov or by calling 617-796-1420. The course lasts between 2 and 2.5 hours.

Narcan is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. Administering Narcan, along with rescue breaths and emergency medical care, is a safe and effective intervention to prevent an opioid overdose death.

Get FREE Narcan and learn more HERE.

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of volunteers focused on emergency preparedness. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals as well as other community members without healthcare backgrounds. Volunteers prepare for and respond to a wide variety of public health emergencies, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and acts of terrorism. Volunteers also participate in community-based events such as flu clinics and health fairs.

Newton is a part of the Metro East Medical Reserve Corps. The Metro East MRC covers 18 communities including Arlington, Belmont, Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Cohasset, Everett, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Newton, Norwell, Quincy, Revere, Scituate, Somerville, Watertown, Weymouth, and Winthrop.

All prospective volunteers interested in becoming a member should join the Metro East MRC by following the steps outlined here: https://region4ab.org/join-now/.

As of October 2022, the number of patients on the national transplant waiting list was more than 105,500. Every ten minutes, another person is added to the list. The number of patients who need a lifesaving transplant goes up faster than the number of available organs.

Signing up to be an organ donor means you may someday be able to help others in need. Just one donor can provide lifesaving organs for to up to eight people. One donor may also impact the lives of others with tissue donation.

Learn more at https://www.organdonor.gov/

The National Marrow Donor Registry helps to grow the registry of potential bone marrow donors. Did you know 70% of patients don’t have a blood stem cell donor match in their family? A bone marrow transplant may be the best or only hope for someone who has been diagnosed with blood cancers, like leukemia and lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases.

When you join the registry, your tissue type is added to the registry. If you’re called to donate, the typical time commitment for the donation process is 20-30 hours spread out over a 4 to 6 week period. Most adult donors (85%) are asked to provide blood stem cells collected from circulating blood in a process similar to donating platelets or plasma. Some donors (15%) are asked to provide blood stem cells collected from the donor’s pelvic bone while under anesthesia.

You can join the registry today if you are between the ages of 18-40 years old and meet certain health guidelines. To join the Be The Match registry, use the following link: https://my.bethematch.org/CityofNewton. Those who register will receive a free cheek swab kit in the mail. After swabbing your cheek, mail the swab with the pre-paid envelope, and you will be added to the registry.

While HHS cannot accept donations, there are ways to donate medical supplies to those in need.

Do you have a wheelchair, rollator, communication device, video magnifier or another item of assistive technology (AT) you'd like to donate to an individual or family? MassMATCH helps durable medical equipment and other AT devices find new homes with people who can use them. Donate and find a list of additional programs accepting donations HERE.

Click here to learn more about Newton Senior Center's Durable Medical Equipment program. 

Newton Senior Center will not be accepting Durable Medical Equipment (DME) at this time. You can call the locations below to inquire about donations or requests:

Brookline Senior Center,  617-730-2770

Waltham Senior Center, 781-314-3499

Watertown Senior Center, 617-972-6490