Wanted: 3,000 Donors in Memory of 911
Original Buttons Honor Loved Ones Lost Throughout September

August 2011

�

Community Blood Services is hoping 3,000 volunteer blood donors will turn out this month at its donor centers and mobile blood drives to recognize the lives lost and affected by 9/11 ten years ago.

Throughout the month of September ,Community Blood Services will be "Remembering 9/11" with its volunteer blood donors and honoring each loved one lost on that tragic day 10 years ago by presenting an originally designed button to each donor at the time of his or her donation.

Community Blood Services' goal is to collect 3,000 units of blood by month�s end to help mark the memory of the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the heartbreaking events of 9/11. The "Remembering 911" buttons are numbered 1 to 3,000. Each button represents a life lost or a life impacted by the tragedy.

"At the same time, the critically needed blood and blood products collected from each donor will help remind everyone of the potential lives that could be saved today and of the importance of always having lifesaving blood on the shelves when needed every day or in the event of a catastrophic event," said Karen Ferriday, community affairs director at Community Blood Services.

Currently, the blood center has been operating with a dangerously low inventory of blood and blood products, less than a one-day supply, Ferriday said. All blood types are needed, particularly Types O negative, A negative and B negative, as well as plasma and platelets. Ferriday attributed the dangerously low supply to fallout from Tropical Storm Irene and the flooding and cleanup efforts that have followed. In addition, high school, community and corporate blood drives have not yet kicked in following the summer months when supplies typically drop.

Ferriday recalled the outpouring of community support when the word spread about the disastrous loss of lives that September morning 10 years ago.

"As always, our community responded instantly to the tragic news. Volunteer blood donors lined up into the evening hours by the thousands outside our Paramus, New Jersey donor center on Linwood Avenue, offering to donate lifesaving blood and blood products and to volunteer in any way they could to help," Ferriday recalled.

"Our generous donors volunteered in many capacities following 9-1 � as volunteers at our mobile blood drives, in our donor canteen and as volunteer blood donors - and many are still with us today," she said.

Donors can click here or call toll free 866-228-1500 to schedule their blood, platelet or plasma appointments during the month of September at a NJ or NY donation site or at a local blood drive. Platelets are collected at the Paramus and Lincoln Park donor centers in New Jersey, and at the Florida Fire Department, Warwick Valley Middle School and St. Luke�s Cornwall Hospital in New York. Call for locations and hours.

"Blood is always in demand. It's always needed by patients in our community hospitals," Ferriday said, noting the center needs about 250 donors each day to meet patients� needs at the more than 25 hospitals it serves in New Jersey and New York.

"You never know when someone you love might need blood - it could be a friend, a family member, or maybe even you," Ferriday said, noting blood and platelets each have a very limited shelf life so they must constantly be replenished. "By donating, you can make a real difference in someone�s life."

Whole blood donors must be 17-75 years old (16 years old with parental permission) and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donors also receive complimentary non-fasting cholesterol and glucose screenings at the time of their donations.