Complimentary Prostate Cancer Screenings For Males 40 and Older

September 10-15, 2012

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All males 40 years old or older who register to donate whole blood or platelets at any Community Blood Services� donor center or mobile blood drive from Monday, September 10th through Saturday, September 15th can request a complimentary PSA assay test � a simple prostate cancer screening test that can help detect potential disease � at the time of his donation.

"Offering complimentary PSA screenings during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is one way for us to say thank you to our donors and show our commitment to the health of our community members," said Karen Ferriday, director of community affairs at Community Blood Services.

The free health screening is being offered to donors who donate at the Paramus or Lincoln Park donor centers in New Jersey, as well as all other donation sites and blood drives scheduled during that week.

Donors can click here to make an appointment to donate or call toll free 866-228-1500. Whole blood donors can also walk-in but an appointment is needed to donate platelets at one of the centers which collect platelet donations.

In New Jersey, donors can donate at the Paramus Donor Center, 970 Linwood Avenue West, Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday or Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p. m.; or Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Or they can donate at the Lincoln Park donor center, 63 Beaverbrook Road, Suite 304, on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, 12 noon to 7:30 p.m., or on Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donors also can call for a listing of convenient blood drives held on bloodmobiles in their area.

In New York, donors can donate at the Florida Fire Department blood drive, 19 South Main Street on Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m. or on a bloodmobile at the Monroe Plaza, 475 Route 17M, on Friday from 3 to 7 p.m.

PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) is a natural protein produced by normal prostate glands in healthy men. The test measures PSA levels in the blood. An elevated PSA blood level may be a warning sign in men for prostate cancer, other urinary tract diseases or conditions such as benign enlargement of the prostate gland. According to the American Cancer Society, about 241,740 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2012 in the U.S. and an estimated 28,170 will die from this disease. Although prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in men, the death rate is decreasing due to early detection and treatment.

Donors will receive a letter with their PSA test results in the mail. Men with elevated PSA levels can then have their primary care physicians review those results.

Ferriday said Community Blood Services needs continuous blood and platelet donations to ensure there is enough blood on its shelves to help patients at the more than 15 hospitals it serves in New Jersey and New York State. Community Blood Services currently needs all blood types, particularly Type O negative, along with plasma from AB male donors to treat burn and trauma victims and platelet donations to treat cancer patients.