Community Blood Center to host New Year’s Resolution Party

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DAYTON — Community Blood Center is calling on both new and current blood donors to give at the holiday time and give more often in the new year.

Donors can get started at the New Year’s Resolution Party from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the downtown Dayton CBC Donor Center, 349 S. Main St.

CBC has an immediate need for blood donors to maintain the blood supply during the challenging holiday week and the start of the new year. CBC also is emphasizing the strategic goals in 2019 of identifying and recruiting new platelet and plasma donors.

The New Year’s Resolution Party is an opportunity donate whole blood, platelets or plasma. CBC will thank donors with special refreshments and a free movie ticket for everyone who registers to donate. Donors can make an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com.

“A night at the movies” is a theme of the resolution party. There will be muffins for morning donors in the Donor Café, submarine sandwiches the rest of the day and movie popcorn all day long. Everyone who registers to donate also will receive a pair of brightly colored holiday socks.

January 2019 will mark the inaugural celebration of Blood Donor Awareness Month in the state of Ohio. CBC will host a news conference at 10 a.m. Jan. 4 at the Dayton CBC Donor Center, 349 S. Main St. to officially kick-off the month-long observance. All donors and supporters are invited to the celebration.

Rep. Stephen Huffman (R-Tipp City), chairman of the House Health Committee, an emergency room physician and a life-long blood donor, introduced House Bill 252 in the summer of 2017. He guided it through unanimous approval in both the House and Senate and to the desk of Gov. John Kasich, who signed it into law on Feb. 8.

On Nov. 6 Rep. Huffman won election to Ohio’s 5th Senate District.

“It is my sincere hope that it will make a difference, that it will inspire our citizens to act, and it will most importantly save lives every day across our great state,” Rep. Huffman said. “We have a growing need to get the young people involved. To teach them that it’s easy to start giving blood as part of service to others.”

Honored guests at the news conference and celebration event include CBC’s top donors Wendell Clark, Larry Turner, Katie Ellis and Judy LaMusga; Donation Hall of Fame member Susan Leugers; and emergency blood recipient Kelly Schmitmeyer. LaMusga and Leugers both gave proponent testimony for Blood Donor Awareness Month before the House and Senate Health Committees.

In 2019 CBC is expanding the opportunity to donate platelets and plasma at select community blood drives. Platelets are the cells that control bleeding while plasma is the fluid that maintains blood pressure. Both are vital for the treatment of cancer, trauma, organ transplant and burn patients.

To encourage donors to join this 2019 initiative CBC is introducing The Big Six Platelet Donor Challenge. CBC will feature a new, limited-edition platelet donor T-shirt every two months. The T-shirt is free when individuals register to donate. Platelet donors are encouraged to donate often and collect all six.

New platelet donors are in high demand, especially those with blood types A, AB or B positive. Individuals can find out more at www.GivingBlood.org or talk to an apheresis specialist at 937-461-3220.

Donors can connect with Community Blood Center for the latest information and services at www.GivingBlood.org. Individuals can get fast and complete answers on how to make their first donation, organize a blood drive or bring Community Blood Center’s education program to a school. People can get all the updates in the CBC/CTS newsroom, find quick links to Community Blood Center’s social media pages or schedule an appointment to donate by connecting to www.DonorTime.com.

Donors are required to provide a photo ID that includes their full name. Past CBC donors also are asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 years old with parental consent: form available at www.givingblood.org or at CBC branch and blood drive locations), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds (donors may have to weigh more, depending on their height) and be in good physical health. The Food and Drug Administration changes blood donor eligibility guidelines periodically. Individuals with eligibility questions are invited to email [email protected] or call 1-800-388-GIVE. Donors can make an appointment at www.DonorTime.com.

Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services is an independent, not-for-profit organization. Community Blood Center provides blood products to 25 hospitals and health centers within a 15-county service area in the Miami (Ohio) and Whitewater (Indiana)Valleys.

For more information about Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, visit www.givingblood.org.

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