Shoreham and Nassau County residents have the chance to participate in blood drives on Thursday.

The New York Blood Center is holding a blood drive in honor of siblings Ruby and Everett Cotter, who both received heart transplants and blood donations while recovering. It will take place at Shoreham-Wading River High School from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

New York Blood Center officials say they hope the blood drive will help give other patients a fighting chance.

"A transplant surgery is an emergency surgery, you don't know when it's going to happen and you don't know when an organ is going to become available,” said an official. “We need to make sure blood is on the shelves and available in advance so it can be there when that transplant surgery is happening."

The Massapequa Fire Department is also hosting a blood drive in honor of Aliyah Petrone, who survived an aggressive form of leukemia after being diagnosed in 2017. It will run from 1:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

RELATED: Guide: Find a blood drive or blood donation site near you