Devin and Jason McCourty
(New Brunswick, NJ) – Tackle Sickle Cell, Embrace Kids Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital will celebrate a decade of successful partnership by hosting 10y Annual Blood Drive for Sickle Cell Therapy in the community on Saturday, February 18th to combat the ongoing blood shortage and support individuals battling sickle cell disease.
10y The annual Sickle Blood Drive takes place at RWJUH’s Arline and Henry Schwartzman Courtyard from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Members of the media are welcome to attend.
To register, visit www.McCourtyTwins.com/TackleSickleCell or call 732-235-8100.
All donors age 17 and over must weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Donors must be 16 years old with written parental consent, weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health.
To obtain a consent form or to ask questions about medical eligibility, please email DonorSupport@RWJUH.edu. Donors are reminded to bring photo ID, eat a good meal and drink plenty of fluids before donating. Masks are required at all times while on hospital grounds.
Former Rutgers football stars Devin and Jason McCourty invite you to support the Tackle Sickle Cell campaign by donating blood, raising awareness, and raising money. Devin and Jason McCourty were football standouts at Rutgers University before moving to the NFL. Devin recently completed his 12th season with the New England Patriots. Jason retired after 13 seasons and now hosts Good Morning Football on NFL Network.
The McCourty Twins generously supported the campaign and gave their time to promote and attend blood drives, visiting donors, fans and patients while giving blood themselves.
Since the beginning of the blood donation drive, 1,700 units of blood have been collected which positively affected the lives of up to 2,500 patients! A blood drive is traditionally held in February to address seasonal blood shortages and is also held as part of RWJUH’s Black History Month activities to raise awareness of the need for specific and unique blood type donations that can support diverse patient groups.
“Embrace Kids is proud to partner with Tackle Sickle Cell and RWJUH to raise awareness of this disease and encourage individuals to donate much-needed blood and blood products,” said Armaan Saxena, Executive Director, Embrace Kids Foundation. “Embrace Kids has a long and proud history of supporting the important programs and services provided at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at RWJUH for many years. Supporting Tackle Sickle Cell is fully aligned with this mission, and we are incredibly pleased to have had a positive impact on so many lives with this blood drive over the past 10 years.”
One in 500 African Americans and one in 1,400 Latinos are born with sickle cell disease. It also affects people of Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean descent.
All current donors receive a commemorative Tackle Sickle Cell T-shirt and refreshments from Jersey Mike’s.
Everyone who registers through the website and makes a donation will receive a $10 gift card to Hansel n’ Griddle (non-transferrable for cash).
About the Embrace Kids Foundation
The Embrace Kids Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, exists to help families whose children have cancer, sickle cell disease, or other blood disorders. Each year, Embrace Kids provides more than $1 million in services to children and families throughout the greater New Jersey area at absolutely no cost to these families. For more information, please visit www.EmbraceKids.org.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, a 614-bed RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is the largest academic medical center in New Jersey through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical College. RWJUH is the flagship cancer hospital of the Rutgers Cancer Institute in New Jersey. Its other centers of excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neurology, orthopedics, bariatric surgery, and women and children’s care including Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood University Hospital. Johnson (www.bmsch.org). A Level I trauma center and the first dedicated pediatric trauma center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its innovative approaches to emergency preparedness.
For contact information:
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital: Peter Heene
Office: 732-937-8568; Cell: 908-227-9317
peter.haigney@rwjbh.org