PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwired - Apr 7, 2016) - Bloodworks Northwest will host a blood drive on April 8 at its newest office, which opened this past February in Portland's Pearl District.
The event will take place in conjunction with WeWork's Day of Giving. The Bloodworks office is located inside of the WeWork building, which provides space for multiple companies in the former U.S. Custom House at 220 NW Eighth Ave.
The drive is open to the public.
Andrea Chiller, Bloodworks regional director of donor services in Oregon and Southwest Washington, said healthy donors are urgently needed to help boost blood inventories, which have declined because of holidays, the cold and flu season and regular donors having to be deferred if they traveled to areas with the Zika virus.
"We're asking the public to come in and give blood to help offset the reduced donations we've seen in recent weeks," Chiller said. "This combination of events -- Easter, spring break, flu and cold season, plus increased demand for blood -- has hit us particularly hard this year. We can all play a part in helping to donate and save lives."
As a community-based nonprofit, Bloodworks collects blood in the areas where it already supports patients and hospitals.
While the Red Cross is historically the name that comes to mind when Oregonians think about blood donation, it's actually Bloodworks that supplies a majority of the lifesaving blood components used by patients and hospitals in Portland and the surrounding metro region. That includes 36,000 pints of blood used at Providence and Legacy facilities in Oregon each year. Bloodworks also provides most of the donated blood used at hospitals in Lane and Douglas Counties in Southern Oregon.
The Portland blood drive will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on April 8. It will take place on a mobile blood mobile outside of the Bloodworks office at 220 NW Eighth Ave.
Drop-ins are welcome. Community members can also sign up to donate in advance by visiting http://schedule.bloodworksnw.org and entering sponsor code 4579, by calling 800-398-7888 or by emailing schedule@bloodworksnw.org.
For information on who can donate and eligibility, please visit http://www.bloodworksnw.org/programs/blood.htm.
About Bloodworks Northwest: Formerly Puget Sound Blood Center, Bloodworks is backed by more than 70 years of Northwest history and 250,000 donors. A national leader in transfusion medicine, Bloodworks has been chosen to serve more than 90 hospitals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska -- partnering closely with local hospitals to deliver the highest level of patient care. Patients with traumatic injuries, undergoing surgeries or organ transplantation, or receiving treatment for cancer and blood disorders all depend on our services, expertise, laboratories and research. We are local, nonprofit, independent, volunteer-supported and community-based. For more information, visit bloodworksnw.org.
High-resolution photos are available for news media use at https://pugetsoundbloodcenter.app.box.com/s/lqbaaiep4hasd6f2z4hg3qlpzdhtpdba.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Kara Hansen