Central Blood Bank (CBB) is a not-for-profit FDA-accredited organization that is responsible for the collection of blood units and for the delivery of transfusion products in more than forty hospitals in the Pittsburgh tri-state area. Founding CBB was inspired by the series of events that occurred during World War I when hundreds of people decided to give a pint of blood to save the wounded and the sick. The Pittsburgh Jaycess and four other physicians even established an organization to help the needs of the community.

The organization started with only 14-staff operation that served seven hospitals. Back then they collected, tested and stored 5,000 units of blood to serve these hospitals.

It has been 61 years and the CBB has grown to 330 employees in Pittsburgh tri-state area. The bank hired more employees to serve the 40 hospitals in the area; they now collect 170,000 units of blood annually which makes them the main distributor of quality blood products.

Years of experience in blood collecting, testing and distribution enabled CBB to develop the field of transfusion medicine. The organization established The Institute For Transfusion Medicine^{(sm)   that provides a coordinated approach to blood processing service for the community.}      

CBB Service saves lives

CBB delivers blood products to be transfused sick individuals; like  Joey Folino.

Joey was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukeima (AML) in 2007 (centralbloodbank.org, 2012). With the help of CBB, Joey receives twenty transfusions of red blood cells and ten transfusions of platelets in Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. From the time he got out of the hospital, he still had to see his doctor three times a week before being pronounced 100% cured. Before Joey got sick he was into different kinds of sports, now that he had survived has gone back to playing for his teams.

What to Donate:

All eligible blood donors are allowed to donate: whole blood, plasma, double red blood cells and platelets. As long as you are 17 years old and above and weigh at least 110 pounds- the key to being allowed to donate is to eat healthy and to stay away from alcohol and drugs. Donors can donate every 56 days, as long as they pass the physical examinations and assessments. It’s also important that you’re not diagnosed with sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

To save your time, you can make an appointment online and get a DonorPass. This is an online form that can complete days before your appointment. Just get the pass printed and hand it to the staff at the center or blood drives.

Every donor is a Volunteer Hero

Blood centers don’t pay donors, but they have a rewards program: the Brighten Life (BL) Reward Program. For every donation you make, you can get points and once you’ve gotten enough points you get gift card rewards. The gift cards can be from Starbucks, iTunes, Wal-Mart and Home Depot- depending on availability.

Schedules & Center Hours:

The CBB owns a total of 25 centers throughout the state. All centers collect whole blood donation and only a few collect other blood components (plasma, platelets and red blood cells); find out what donation you would want to make and get an appointments by calling 1-866-DONORS-1.

Source:

CentralBloodBank.org

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