You Can Make a Difference! Be a Blood Donor and Get a Halloween Bean Bag Character

October 29 and 30

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You can receive your choice of a Halloween bean bag character when you successfully donate blood or platelets on Friday, Oct. 29 at Community Blood Services� Paramus Donor Center or on Oct. 30 at its Paramus or Lincoln Park centers in New Jersey or its New Windsor center in New York.

�All eligible donors who give the gift of life can make a difference. Your donation can save up to three lives,� said Karen Ferriday, community affairs director at Community Blood Services.

She noted that the 5� bean bag characters, which include a ghost, devil, vampire, goblin, bat, black cat, skeleton, bat and candy corn, are the blood center�s way of thanking volunteer donors for their lifesaving donations.

Donors can donate at the Paramus donor center, 970 Linwood Avenue West, from 8.a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, or from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. They also can donate on Saturday at the Lincoln Park center, 63 Beaver Brook Road, Suite 304, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In New York, donors can donate on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the New Windsor Donor Center, 575 Hudson Valley Avenue, Suite 206.

Currently, there is less than a half day�s supply of blood on the shelves to meet the needs of patients in the more than 30 hospitals served in New Jersey and New York, according to Ferriday. All blood types are needed, especially O negative and O positive. Platelets are needed to treat patients diagnosed with cancer or other blood disorders.

For more information, or to make an appointment to donate, visit www.communitybloodservices.com or call toll free 866-228-1500. Walk-ins are also welcome but an appointment is needed to donate platelets

Whole blood donors must be 17-75 years old (16 years old in NY with parental permission) and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donors also receive complimentary health screenings, including cholesterol and glucose screenings.