Mets host blood drive at Shea

Peter Zellen at Mets.com, writes about the blood drive that was hosted at Shea Stadium:

The Diamond Club at Shea Stadium looked like a hospital emergency ward on Monday, with nurses scrambling around attending to the constant flow of patients filling two dozen gurneys.

But instead of bandages, there were cups of apple juice and piles of Oreos, Cheez-It crackers and granola bars, and as soon as Mr. Met came bouncing through the doors -- shaking hands and patting people on the back -- it was easy to tell this stage was not the result of a major accident or natural disaster.

Rather, it was the scene of a few hundred New York Mets fans coming in to donate blood in the first of two blood drives the team will hold this year.

"Not all the drives are as much fun as this," said New York Blood Center director of marketing Harvey Schaffler, surveying the crowd of donors, about a third of them adorned in Mets paraphernalia.

Drawing more than 100 people in the first two hours, the Mets were certainly on pace to top the 200 or so who donated at last year's blood drive -- an increase fueled by the team's successful 2006 campaign and the promise of two free tickets for a home game in April.