Community Blood Drives Benefit Cancer Patients

October 30, 2009

NEW YORK, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- November is both Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and New York Blood Center (NYBC) and its divisions in Manhattan, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Brooklyn/Staten Island, and New Jersey call upon the community to join the fight against cancer by donating blood today.

Every two seconds, someone needs blood, and cancer patients may require frequent blood transfusions because aggressive treatment often destroys healthy blood cells along with diseased ones. Red blood cell transfusions to fight anemia and platelet transfusions to control bleeding are often needed.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the United States. Because it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, the survival rate is poor compared with that of other types of cancer.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the United States. It is estimated that 116,090 men and 103,350 women will be diagnosed with cancer of the lung and bronchus this year.

Giving blood today can aid cancer patients in their recovery. Organizing a blood drive is also a thoughtful way of honoring or remembering someone affected by cancer. Over the years, hundreds of these dedicated blood drives have been held by loved ones and hosted by employers, business organizations, community groups, and schools.

Please call 1-800-933-BLOOD or visit www.nybloodcenter.org to schedule an appointment to donate blood this season. Those who are fighting for their lives are counting on YOU to give the gift of life. NYBC thanks every individual blood donor and the wide variety of organizations that sponsor blood drives throughout the busy and often distracting pre-holiday season.

To donate blood, please call:

Toll Free: 1-800-933-2566

Visit: www.nybloodcenter.org

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.

SOURCE New York Blood Center