NEW YORK, Nov. 17 As we approach Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" and the holiday season, New York Blood Center (NYBC) calls upon the community to please remember the children and families whose lives are stricken by diagnoses that require frequent blood transfusions for recovery and survival. Among these diseases are leukemia and other forms of cancer, thalassemia and aplastic anemias, sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other diseases.
Advertisement
Please take a few minutes from the holiday shuffle to donate blood. Winter holidays are a time when blood supplies diminish while hospital and patient needs remain the same. It is also a time when it becomes more difficult to find precise blood matches for patients who are very sick. Somewhere, someone is fighting for his or her life.
Advertisement
Liam Matthew Gorman, 5, is diagnosed with a rare form of bone marrow failure called Diamond Blackfan Anemia, and requires life saving blood every two to three weeks. Each time he is transfused, we thank that anonymous donor who helps Liam.
Alex Mele, 15, is an avid baseball player hoping to win his fight against Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Alex is currently suffering a relapse. Cancer patients need blood transfusions because aggressive treatment often destroys healthy blood cells along with diseased ones. Alex is in dire need of a bone marrow match from someone of similar Italian heritage. For more information, please call 1-800-MARROW-2.
Muriel Roth was diagnosed three years ago with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and needed many units of whole blood and platelets while undergoing chemotherapy. Unfortunately, Muriel lost her battle to cancer on September 16, 2009, at the age of 50. Her friends and family hope that the blood drive in her honor will help to save others.
Please consider donating at one of these blood drives during Thanksgiving week. You may also donate blood in your area by calling 1-800-933-2566.
New York Blood Center is thankful for the individuals, businesses, community groups and religious organizations that are steadfast in their commitment to blood drives throughout the busy and often distracting holiday season.
Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may host a blood drive. NYBC also offers special community service scholarships for students who organize community blood drives during the winter holiday and summer periods. Blood donors receive free mini-medical exams on site including information about their temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin level. Eligible donors include those people at least age 16 (with parental permission or consent), who weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, are in good health and meet all Food & Drug Administration and NY or NJ State Department of Health donor criteria. People age 76 and over may donate with a doctor's note.
About New York Blood Center: New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood centers. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to almost 200 hospitals, serving 20 million people, in greater New York since 1964. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine.
Liam Matthew Gorman Monday, November 23, 2009 2:00 pm - 7:30 pm TransCare Brooklyn 25 Fourteenth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Entrance at the corner of 14th and 2nd Ave.) Alex Mele Tuesday, November 24, 2009 3:00 pm - 8:30 pm Russo's on the Bay Second Floor, Tivoli Room 162-45 Cross Bay Boulevard Howard Beach, NY 11414 Muriel Roth Tuesday, November 24, 2009 2:30 pm - 8:00 pm Hudson Valley Mall Main Level, Vacant Store 1300 Ulster Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401
SOURCE New York Blood Center
