Corporate Recognition

Ongoing Blood Shortage

This past year the tri-state area experienced one of the worst blood shortages in history due to a general decline in donors, along with restrictions placed on prospective donors who lived or traveled in Europe and ran the risk of exposure to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, commonly known as mad cow disease.

The blood shortage of the summer of 2001 was so severe that patient care suffered in many hospitals because there wasn't enough blood for transfusions.

The attack on the World Trade Center served as a wake-up call to all Americans as to the importance of having adequate supplies of blood and blood products.

Now, we must pursue every opportunity to make sure that we continue to have ample blood supplies so our hospitals can meet the transfusion needs of their patients - whether for routine or emergency surgery, the treatment of life-threatening diseases, or for unforeseen catastrophes such as the one that took place on September 11th.

Mobile Collection Centers Needed

In an effort to increase blood donations, Community Blood Services will establish semi-permanent collection sites throughout its service area. These sites will consist of movable trailers equipped and staffed to meet FDA and state regulations.

The trailers will be stationed in convenient locations that are easily accessible to prospective donors. Since these trailers will not be permanently fixed to those sites, they can be transported to other locations as the need arises.

These trailers offer an efficient and cost-effective way of making it effortless for people to donate blood. They also will provide an opportunity for pheresis donors to donate elsewhere in their communities. The ease of donating in these mobile donor rooms will ensure that our blood supplies will stay sufficient to meet the growing needs of the people in our community.

Corporate and Community

To date, several companies and foundations have expressed interest in this worthwhile project and a few have generously donated funds to help get it underway. Additional support will be needed toward the purchase and maintenance of these trailers to ensure there are enough available to pursue blood donations in currently untapped areas and thus maintain our future blood supplies.

For Additional Information

Please call 201-251-3714 for further information or to find out how you can help fund this community program and ensure the continued availability of blood in your community.