Rutherford Community Blood Bank

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2008
Contact: Kathleen Mathieu
201-939-1844

Save a Life—Donate Blood

Rutherford Community Blood Bank will host it annual spring blood drive on Tuesday, April 8 from 4 to 8 PM at the Elks Club on Ames Avenue.

A national decline in blood donations is affecting New Jersey more than ever before. "Although experts predict that 9 out of 10 New Jersey resident will need blood during their lives, donations continue to decrease," said Andy Bertone, the blood bank’s new chairman, who has worked on community blood drives for 25 years. "It seems to get harder each year to bring in donors, so we like to emphasize the importance of each unit donated and each donor."

Each donation makes a difference, a fact underscored on New Jersey’s website:

• One pint of blood from a single donor may save up to 3 lives.
• In 2005, New Jersey used 74,000 more units of blood than it collected.
• In the past New Jersey could rely on blood from other states when a shortfall occurred, but now these states are experiencing blood shortages as well.
• While many people donate blood during a disaster, blood is needed 365 days a year.

Most people 17 years and older can donate blood, and reservations are not required. Minors under 18 need written permission from a parent or guardian. Please call Community Blood Services at 201-251-3703 for more information.

Andy Bertone recently succeeded Dorothy Clare, who was at the helm of the blood bank since the early 1990s. Many of the blood bank’s directors have been on the board for decades. Rutherford Community Blood Bank celebrated 50 years of saving lives in 2007. In 2006, Community Blood Services honored the group for outstanding service to the community.