As the American Red Cross was preparing for the first blood drive on Nantucket in nearly three decades, organizer Tom McCann said their goal was to collect 40 pints of blood. The Red Cross nearly doubled that goal at the blood drive at VFW Post 8608 in October, raising a whopping 73 pints—the most the Red Cross could collect with the equipment on hand.

“They said if you get 40 pints [of blood], that’s a good turnout,” said McCann, who organized the blood drive through island organization Nantucket Cares. “I said I want to get as many [pints] as you can get. It was like I was batting in the bottom of the 9th inning, two outs. I don’t want to bunt, I want to swing for the fences. They said, ‘Your idea of a bunt is our idea of a home run.’”

It had been 28 years since Nantucket held a blood drive, largely due to the belief that the American Red Cross would not collect blood on an island with a prevalence of tick-borne illness. But that is not the case. According to the American Red Cross, donors are eligible even if they have  had Lyme disease in the past, as long as they do not actively show symptoms and have completed antibiotic treatment. What Nantucket needed was an organizer for a blood drive. Enter Tom McCann.

here’s never enough blood,” McCann said. “There’s always a blood shortage. [Blood] comes in and goes out in the same breath. There shouldn’t be a shortage, but there is. It’s a matter of getting people together and donating.” The idea for an island blood drive came about when McCann was in Boston for a physical. On his way out, he heard there was a desperate blood shortage across the country. McCann, knowing a thing or two about Nantucket, hatched a plan to rally islanders, restaurants, transportation services and Nantucket Cottage Hospital for a blood drive on the island. By the day of the blood drive, McCann had secured food from The Downyflake, Pi Pizzeria, Bartlett’s Farm, The SeaGrille and Something Natural. The Fire Department pitched in to store an American Red Cross van overnight, and the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises provided ferry tickets for American Red Cross employees to and from Nantucket.

The blood itself does not stay on Nantucket. Once it’s donated, it’s sent to a lab in Dedham, Massachusetts, before it enters a so-called blood bank to be distributed where it’s needed most. McCann said at the time of the blood drive in October the blood would most likely be sent to areas in North Carolina Hospital receives a blood delivery from the Red Cross every two weeks.

“We’re on an island 30 miles out to sea, and there’s only so much blood we have here in our facility [at Nantucket Cottage Hospital],” he said. “There were times they would MedFlight blood from Boston to Nantucket in times of need.”

With the success of the first blood drive, McCann said he plans to make it a twice-per-year event, with the next drive planned for May 2025. His goal for the next event is 251 pints of blood, enough to overtake the record amount donated at an annual Red Cross event at Fenway Park in September. The only place you could do that is Nantucket, McCann said. “It’s like setting up the Boston Pops concert at Jetties Beach,” he said. “It was a Super Bowl party. People stayed the full day. The Red Cross was blown away. They had never seen that much food donated. Boston has Boston Strong. We have Nantucket Strong as our theme.”