The City University of New York in conjunction with New York Blood Center will host blood and bone marrow drives at CUNY campuses throughout the five boroughs to help save the lives of patients in need of life-saving blood products and patients who are battling a life-threatening disease and need a bone marrow or cord blood transplant to survive.
CUNY will hold a press conference to announce the combined drives on Monday, February 1, 2010, 1:30pm, at Borough of Manhattan Community College located at 199 Chambers Street, in the Richard Harris Terrace, New York, NY 10007. BMCC will also hold a blood drive on February 1st from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
Among CUNY leaders attending the press conference will be Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Peter Jordan and BMCC President Antonio Perez.
“The uniqueness of CUNY’s diverse student body becomes an invaluable asset to the New York City’s blood supply. It is of utmost importance to have a blood supply that mirrors the landscape of recipients, especially when a recipient requires a specific antigen that few possess, and CUNY students mirror New York’s population. I strongly encourage CUNY students, faculty and staff to participate in this blood drive and to volunteer to be bone marrow donors,” said CUNY Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Peter Jordan.
“The BMCC community is well known for generosity toward those in need, and we are proud to participate in The City University of New York/New York Blood Center’s Blood and Bone Marrow Drive,” said Antonio Pérez, President of Borough of Manhattan Community College. “Our kickoff event on February 1st will raise awareness and address the inequity reflected in the City’s current donor pool, in which less than half of all African Americans seeking a bone marrow match are able to find one. A case in point is that of Jennifer Jones Austin, a beloved community activist with over two decades of service to our City, who has been diagnosed with leukemia and is now urgently seeking a bone marrow match. Join BMCC students, staff and faculty, as we strive to offer aid to Ms. Austin and countless other New Yorkers by registering as a possible marrow donor.”
Healthy individuals, ages sixteen (with parental permission or consent) and older, are encouraged to donate blood at any of the scheduled CUNY blood drives. Blood donors at each of the blood drives will also have an opportunity to help save the life of Jennifer Jones Austin by joining the Be The Match Registry, a national bone marrow registry that matches donors to patients in need of a life-saving bone marrow transplant. The donor registry drives in honor of Jennifer Jones Austin are an effort to raise awareness about the need for more African American bone marrow donors, and to perhaps find a matching donor for 41-year old Austin and many other patients like her.
Austin, a well-respected community activist for children and families, was recently diagnosed with leukemia and her only hope for a cure is a marrow transplant. Like 70 percent of patients, Austin does not have a matching donor in her family and is depending on the Be The Match Registry – the largest listing of volunteer marrow donors – to find a match.
“Thousands of people like me are searching for their donor match,” Austin said. “By joining the Be The Match Registry you have a special opportunity to offer the gift of life to someone. No higher act of service exists.”
The Be The Match Registry drive for Ms. Austin is aimed especially at recruiting more African Americans to join the registry. Patients are more likely to find a match from among donors who share the same race or ethnicity. Yet out of a registry of millions, fewer than 10 percent are African Americans.
Interested volunteers can join the Be The Match Registry at several locations throughout the United States. People also can sign up to be the one to save a life by visiting BeTheMatch.org. To join, people need to be between the ages of 18 and 60, willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet health guidelines.
Registration is simple and involves completing a health history form and giving a swab of cheek cells. There is no cost to join the Be The Match Registry, but financial contributions help cover the $100 it costs to add each new registry member. For more information, visit www.BeTheMatch.org or call 1(800) MARROW-2.
The need for blood is constant. New York Blood Center calls upon the community to please donate blood. Blood drive cancellations from the weekend storm of December 19, 2009, coupled with unusually high demand from regional hospitals, have impacted Rh-negative blood supplies, especially type O-negative.
Please join CUNY and New York Blood Center to help save the lives of those in need of life-saving blood products by donating blood and joining the Be The Match Registry to help save the lives of patients in need of a life-saving bone marrow or cord blood transplant. A list of the combined CUNY blood and bone drives is attached.
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.
About Be The Match®
Be The Match is a movement that engages a growing community of people inspired to help patients who need a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a leader in the field of marrow and cord blood transplantation, created Be The Match to provide opportunities for the public to become involved in saving the lives of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases. Volunteers can join the Be The Match Registry – the world’s largest and most diverse listing of potential adult marrow donors and donated cord blood units – as well as contribute financially to Be The Match Foundation or give their time. Be The Match Foundation supports the NMDP by raising funds to grow the Be The Match Registry, help patients with transplant costs and advance medical research. Since operations began in 1987, the NMDP has provided more than 35,000 transplants to help give patients a second chance at life. For more information, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.
The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in New York City in 1847 as The Free Academy, the University’s 23 institutions include 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the Graduate School and University Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the CUNY School of Public Health. The University serves 260,000 credit students and 269,808 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The University offers online baccalaureate degrees through the School of Professional Studies and an individualized baccalaureate through the CUNY Baccalaureate Degree. More than 1 million visitors and 2 million page views are served each month by www.cuny.edu, the University’s website.
Contact:
Michael Arena, CUNY
(212) 794.5685 Office
Keith Hudson, New York Blood Center
(212) 570-3327 Office
(646) 373-8605 Mobile
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New York Blood Center -City University of New York
Blood & Bone Marrow Drives Schedule
JANUARY 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Kingsborough Community College
10:00am – 4:00pm
FEBRUARY 2010
Black History Month
Monday, February 1, 2010
Borough of Manhattan Community College
10:00am – 4:00pm
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Hostos Community College
9:30am – 3:30pm
Monday, February 8, 2010
CUNY – The Graduate Center
10:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
12:00pm – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Bus Unit)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Bronx Community College
12:00pm – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Bus Unit)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Hunter College
10:00am – 6:00pm
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Bronx Community College
12:00pm – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Bus Unit)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Hunter College
10:00am – 6:00pm
Monday, February 22, 2010 – 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Herbert Lehman College
Herbert Lehman College Music Building
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Herbert Lehman College
Herbert Lehman College Music Building
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Brooklyn College
12:00pm – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Unit)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
York College CUNY
11:00am – 6:30pm
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
City College of New York
9:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Brooklyn College
12:00p – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Bus Unit)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
City College of New York
9:00am – 4:00pm
Thursday, February 25, 2010 – 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Brooklyn College
12:00pm – 6:00pm
(NYBC Mobile Unit)
MARCH 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Baruch College
11:00am – 4:30pm
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
College of Staten Island
12:00pm – 5:30pm
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
College of Staten Island
12:00pm – 5:30pm
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Baruch College
11:00am – 4:30pm
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 – 10:00am – 6:00pm
Kingsborough Community College
10:00am – 6:00pm
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 – 10:00am – 6:00pm
Kingsborough Community College
10:00am – 6:00pm
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Kingsborough Community College
10:00am – 6:00pm
APRIL 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Borough of Manhattan Community College
11:00am – 5:00pm
Monday, April 26, 2010
New York City College of Technology
10:00am – 7:30pm
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
New York City College of Technology
10:00am – 7:30pm
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New York City College of Technology
10:00am – 7:30pm
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 – 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Herbert Lehman College
Herbert Lehman College Music Building
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
LaGuardia Community College
10:30am – 6:30pm
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Herbert Lehman College
Herbert Lehman College Music Building
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Thursday, April 29, 2010
New York City College of Technology
10:00am – 7:30pm
JULY 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Kingsborough Community College
9:00am – 5:00pm
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Kingsborough Community College
9:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Kingsborough Community College
9:00am – 5:00pm