Stony Brook University is set to host a blood drive in honor of Aidan Fischer, a Long Island resident facing cancer for the third time. The event will be held on Wednesday, April 16, at the Student Activities Center Ballroom A, from 11 am to 8 pm.
The blood drive pays tribute to Fischer, 23, from Northport, New York. It also acknowledges the contributions of 35,000 Seawolves who have donated blood over two decades in partnership with the New York Blood Center. Each pint collected could potentially save three lives.
Kate Valerio, an advisor and volunteer with the Stony Brook University Blood Drive Committee, is organizing the drive, with assistance from Melanie Formosa, an alumna and childhood friend of Fischer.
Jenine Saccente, Fischer's mother, expressed hopes that the drive will educate people on platelet and granulocyte donations. Granulocytes are a type of white blood cell. Fischer's father, Christopher Fischer, works as a trauma education coordinator at the Stony Brook Trauma Center.
Interested donors are encouraged to book through the New York Blood Center Donor Portal.