Blood Center of New Orleans - New Orleans, Louisiana

Due to Hurricane Katrina, The Blood Center of Louisiana is currently inoperable. Our main facility in New Orleans at last report had 15-20 feet of water throughout the first floor of the building. Many of our staff evacuated Southern Louisiana and Mississippi due to the impending threat of Katrina for the safety of themselves and their families. In fact, many of them lost their homes, possessions and are essentially homeless.

The flood waters at our main facility currently prevent us from performing testing, as well as component processing on each unit of blood collected in accordance with the requirements established by the Food and Drug Administration.

However, the management of The Blood Center is currently assessing the status of our satellite locations and contacting our staff to begin operating as quickly as possible, hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks. The Blood Center, a not for profit service organization, is the primary provider of blood and blood components to over 40 hospitals in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

We kindly ask that our donors and organizational sponsors please bear with us during this difficult transition period until we can get operations back into full swing. We will require the support of our loyal donor and donor groups now more than ever, to restore a stable community blood supply for the patients throughout the communities we serve.

Anyone wishing to make a monetary contribution can go to any Chase Bank location and make contributions payable to The Blood Center (Disaster Relief Fund) or mail directly to the following address:

The Blood Center
9848 Perkins Rd, Suite A
Baton Rouge, LA 70810

For more information, contact Tina Schwander, (504) 319-7062 or (225) 819-0590.

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