Matthew Letizia received the worst news of his life in 2019 when his father was diagnosed with leukemia.
As medical director for more than a dozen police, fire and emergency medical services departments in New Jersey, Letizia has saved countless lives. And his goal was to keep his father alive as long as possible.
Thanks to blood donations, Gary Letizia was able to spend another year with his family while battling aggressive blood cancer. He died on December 18, 2019 at the age of 69.
“Without the countless gallons of blood donations that helped him fight the disease, I would not have had my father this last year,” Letizia said. “I felt like I had to thank the world for keeping my father alive and giving my family these extra memories.”
The emergency physician thought about simply donating blood once a month himself. But that was a relatively small gift given the great need.
“My father used so many gallons that it would have taken him literally a lifetime to give that much back,” he said.
So Letizia organized a blood drive. One became two… then 14. And in 2024, with the help of the Giants and other organizations, he has held dozens of events, collecting hundreds of pints.
More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day, but according to the American Red Cross, only about 3% of Americans donate blood each year. So Letizia used his connections as medical director for Elizabeth, Westfield and many other cities to organize a blood drive in his father’s name in June 2021.
“We got about 20 pints, which we all thought was great,” said Letizia.
But that was just the beginning. The success of the event only made him want to do more.
“I thought we might be able to double the amount in 2022,” he said, referring to the two blood drives that collected 65 pints of blood two years ago.
His original goal for 2023 was to hold four blood drives.
Instead, he organized 14 Gary Letizia memorial blood drives.
“I saw all these people just randomly showing up at blood drives all over New Jersey,” he said. “It was incredible.”
He has already surpassed last year’s total of 564 pints of blood thanks to more than two dozen blood drives in 2024. The most recent took place on Monday when New Jersey Blood Services and the Giants teamed up to host a drive at MetLife Stadium’s Coaches Club.
The result was 33 donations, bringing Letizia’s total donation since January to 848 pints of blood.
“Matthew is an outstanding emergency medicine physician who has dedicated the majority of his career to prehospital medicine – emergency care before a patient arrives in the emergency room,” said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Democrat of the 5th District, who honored Letizia as one of his hometown heroes in a ceremony last month. “Since his father’s death, Matthew has made it his mission to raise awareness of blood donations and expand the blood supply.”
Letizia has no plans to stop now. Every year, more than a million people are diagnosed with cancer and many of them require blood transfusions during treatment.
Letizia – who was named the 2023 EMS Medical Director of the Year by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians – has coordinated with the Clark Volunteer Emergency Squad (August 19, 1-7 p.m.), Madison Fire Department (August 28, 1-7 p.m.), Florham Memorial First Aid Squad (September 19, 1-7 p.m.), Allendale Fire Department (September 26, 1-7 p.m.), Summit First Aid Squad (November 5, 1-7 p.m.) and Spring Lake First Aid Squad (November 7, 12:30-6:30 p.m.) for future blood drives.
The National Conference on EMS is also hosting a blood drive in honor of his father on November 21 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City.
“It shows how all the emergency services in New Jersey come together to donate for life,” he said.
One blood donation can save up to three lives, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Those in need include cancer patients, accident and trauma victims, newborns and their mothers, transplant recipients, chronic transfusion patients and people undergoing surgery at hospitals across New Jersey.
“Theoretically, 500 units of blood can save 1,500 lives, which means other people’s loved ones are blessed with the precious gift of time,” he said. “That makes me feel incredibly good.”
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You can reach Keith Sargeant at [email protected].
