October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Donating blood aids cancer recovery

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and New York Blood Center (NYBC), serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and New Jersey, calls upon our communities to please join the fight against breast cancer by donating blood.  October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.  Donations from O-negative and B-negative types are particularly needed immediately, but healthy people of all blood types and ethnicities are also encouraged to donate and help save lives.

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.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that 207,090 women and 1,970 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.  Approximately one in eight women will be diagnosed with cancer of the breast during their lifetime.  At this time, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.  This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.

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 truly need 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 year.

To donate blood, please call:

Toll Free:  1-800-933-BLOOD (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 critical months.  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 over 75 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 hospitals since 1964, serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.  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. Please visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter.  Follow us on Twitter: @NYBloodCenter.  

SOURCE New York Blood Center