Stanford Blood Center Will Launch New Bloodmobile To Meet Growing Needs

September, 2008
Attention News Desk: Press Release (for immediate release)
MEDIA CONTACT:
Michele Hyndman (650) 723-8237
mhyndman@stanford.edu

STANFORD, Calif. — Members of the media are invited to a launch party for Stanford Blood Center’s new bloodmobile on Sept. 20. This event, which will take place at the center’s Palo Alto facility at 3373 Hillview Ave. between 4 and 6 p.m., is by invitation only and will feature speeches by Ed Engleman, MD, medical director of the center and a leading researcher; Harpreet Sandhu, director of donor services; and Susan Morris, manager of donor recruitment.

The purchase of the new bloodmobile was made possible by generous contributions from local industry, individuals and community groups, which covered almost half the costs. The bloodmobile boasts two medical history rooms, five donor beds and the capacity for two automated blood-collection machines that allow donors to give specific blood components, such as plasma or red blood cells. With the newest addition, the blood center will have three bloodmobiles.

With the demand for blood continually rising, the bloodmobile was brought in to meet the needs of local hospitals. More than half of the blood collected by the center comes from mobile drives, and bloodmobiles are out in the community nearly every day of the week. “Having this new bus allows us to expand our service capacity, both in terms of the number of mobiles we can schedule and the penetration we can achieve in the community, as well as number of units we can collect in service to our patients and hospitals,” Morris explained.

The Stanford Blood Center provides blood to patients at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, El Camino Hospital, O’Connor Hospital, the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, the Livermore Veterans Affairs Hospital and three freestanding local surgery centers.

Those invited to the event will tour the bloodmobile in addition to enjoying fine wine from J. Lohr and Thomas Fogarty Wineries; food provided by The Cheesecake Factory, Ken Zandu and Whole Foods Market; and classical music by Carol Alban’s flute trio. There will also be a prize drawing for wine tours and a spa visit.

Blood center officials hope the acquisition of this new bloodmobile will allow it to expand its service to the community and fulfill its life-saving mission.

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Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions – Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. For more information, please visit the Office of Communication & Public Affairs site at http://mednews.stanford.edu/.