Community Blood Services Celebrates
New Paramus Donor Center at Open House

April 25, 2014

�

PARAMUS, NJ � The mayor, Chamber of Commerce, blood center staff and volunteer blood donors celebrated the opening of Community Blood Services� new Paramus Donor Center with a ribbon cutting and open house on Friday, April 25 at the center.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera, Community Blood Services CEO Dr. Dennis Todd and Chamber Chairperson Linda Panagia joined staff members to cut the ribbon in the morning, officially welcoming donors to the new center which has been operating since March. Festivities continued at night with an open house for community members and volunteer donors.

�The new blood center at 1 West Ridgewood Avenue is less than a mile away from our previous center on Linwood Avenue, still conveniently located near Route 17,� Dr. Todd noted. �We are committed to staying in the community we�ve been serving for more than 60 years and are pleased the new facility allows us to do just that.�

�The importance of the Paramus Donor Center is immeasurable in our community,� said Mayor LaBarbiera, himself a life-giving blood donor. The mayor, who donated when a borough police officer was shot a few years ago, said it �was very rewarding to give back to the community.�

�I encourage community members to donate a pint and help someone who needs blood in our area,� LaBarbiera said.

Dr. Ron Walsh, the blood center�s medical director, gave an informative presentation during the open house, touching on the importance of the center�s lifesaving programs which, in addition to its Blood Services, include a bone marrow registry (The HLA Registry) and a public cord blood bank (New Jersey Cord Blood Bank). He also spoke about how specific blood products help patients in our community hospitals and the benefit of health screenings that donors receive when they donate blood, which include a blood pressure check, hemoglobin count and non-fasting cholesterol and glucose screenings.

The new center, located in Suite 208 of the Bergen Medical Center, is open seven days a week. Volunteer blood, plasma and platelet donors of all types are invited to call 201-251-3703 for donation hours and to schedule their donation appointments at the new center or you can click here for hours and click here to schedule your appointment online.

There has been an ongoing need for all types of blood donors and blood products in recent weeks, especially Type O negative and platelets. Donors must be in good health, 17-75 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds.

Community Blood Services, a not-for-profit organization, provides blood and blood products for patients in 18-plus hospitals in New Jersey and New York, including Hackensack University Medical Center, St. Joseph�s Healthcare System in Paterson/Wayne, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and the Atlantic Health System.