TRAVERSE CITY: Michigan Community Blood Centers, an independent blood bank that provides 100 percent of the blood supply for hospitals in a 7-county area of Northwest Michigan, will mark the 50th anniversary of its nonprofit organization with an open house at the main donor center at 2575 Aero Park Drive on Tuesday, October 11, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Blood Center staff will welcome guests and donors throughout the day, including four multi-gallon blood donors who plan to donate their 50th pints of blood in conjunction with the 50th anniversary festivities. All day long, blood donors will receive complimentary T-shirts. A photo display will highlight the history of Michigan Community Blood Centers, which was founded in eastern Michigan in 1955 and has provided blood to hospitals in Northwest Michigan since 1995.

Across the state, Michigan Community Blood Centers now provides 100 percent of the regular blood supply in four major regions with a combined population of more than 1.5 million, including Antrim, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Berrien, Clare, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Kent, Leelanau, Manistee, Midland, Osceola, and Saginaw counties.

Demand for the Blood Center’s services has grown so much in Northwest Michigan that the blood bank is expanding its Aero Park Drive facilities to include more room for blood donors plus additional equipment and supplies for blood drive preparation. (Note: as parking at the Blood Center is temporarily limited because of construction, 50th Anniversary Open House guests and blood donors are welcome to access additional parking space in the college lot across the street.)
  
While the Blood Center’s primary mission is to provide a safe, adequate supply of blood to communities in its service areas, it also offers other life-saving, blood-related services such as support for marrow and stem-cell transplant patients and their families, marrow donor registry, and Michigan’s first Cord Blood Bank. Michigan Community Blood Centers also is a member of America’s largest provider of blood and blood-related services: America’s Blood Centers, a nationwide network of community blood banks that together provide 50 percent of America’s blood supply and 100% of Canada’s blood supply.

This year, Michigan Community Blood Centers expects to collect well over 95,000 pints of blood to provide for the needs of 23 hospital facilities that care for patients from all over Michigan’s lower peninsula.

© Michigan Community Blood Centers