34 - CAPE GAZETI'E, Friday, June 2 - June 8, 1995
Blood Bank
of Delaware
marks 40 years
During the past 40 years, med-
ical technology has changed con-
stantly and become niore special-
ized, making the need for blood
and blood products more impor-
tant than ever to the area's hospi-
tal patients. In celebrating its 40th
anniversary this month, Blood
Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore
is proud to have served hundreds
of thousands of local patients who
have received lifesaving blood
transfusions.
The Blood Bank was created in
1955 by prominent insurance man
James MCloskey and a group of
business leaders to eliminate con-
stant shortages and ease the bur-
den of patients who were required
to replace any blood they used in
local hospitals. What resulted was
a membership plan that not only
eased this replacement burden,
but created a reliable blood dona-
tion system that has eliminated
shortages in this area for the last
three decades.
Early on, recruiting members
was a grassroots effort. Through
extensive promotion, door-to-
door canvassing of homes, and the
extensive support of then-Gov. J.
Caleb Boggs, the Blood Bank
began operations in May, 1955
with 5,000 members. The DuPont
Company, Wilmington Trust,
Bank of Delaware and Kent Gen-
eral Hospital were among thefirst
supporters who are still active
today.
During its first 20 years, the
Blood Bank was an organization
that only scheduled donors to give
blood at local hospitals. But, in
1977, the Blood Bank acquired
the expertise to convert into a full-
service "wet" blood bank that
would draw, process, test and dis-
tribute blood to area hospitals. All
hospitals in Delaware and Mary-
land's Eastern Shore now rely on
Blood Bank of DelawareJEastern
Shore for their total supply of
blood and blood products for the
20,000 patients who require trans-
fusions each year.
The early 1980s was an era of
change for the entire blood bank-
ing industry as concern mounted
over the possible transmission of
HIV and other diseases through
blood transfusions. In 1985, a test
to detect HIV in blood was intro-
duced and since then, over
500,000 transfusions have taken
place in area hospitals without a
single reported case of AIDS. The
1980s and early 1990s also saw a
significant growth for the Blood
Bank, culminating in a merger
with Blood Bank of the Eastern
Shore in 1991.
The result is an organization
that currently has six state-of-the-
art blood donation centers and is
the sole supplier of over 90,000
units of blood and blood products
annually to all 19 hospitals
throughout the 12 county region
that encompasses Delaware and
Strong initial support for the Blood Bank came from ninny local labor unions as shown in
this photograph of Blood Bank administrator Grace Stilhnan signing up workers at the Gen-
eral Motors Boxwood Road Plant in 1956.
Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Currently, 182,000 families
throughout Delaware, Cecil
County and Maryland's Eastern
Shore are members of the Blood
Bank, extending protection to an
estimated 700,000 people. Mem-
bership is $5 per year ($2 for those
over 65) and covers the member,
spouse and any dependents for the
cost of replacing blood in local
hospitals. For further information
call 1-800-628-4008.
morr, s
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AHA launches
memorial program
The American Heart Associa-
tion (AHA) of Delaware's life
giving memorial program is a way
to honor the memory of family
and friends.
The memorial contributions are
not only a thoughtful tribute to the
deceased, but they also help make
new medical advances possible.
Bypass surgery, CPR courses and
blood pressure medication are all
life-saving advances made possi-
ble in part by the AHA. "Beloved
family and friends will continue to
live on through the American
Heart Association," said Paul
Mylander, president of the AHA
board of directors in Delaware.
For every memorial contribu-
tion to the AHA, a memorial pro-
gram sympathy card is sent by the
association on behalf of the donor,
to the bereaved. For more infor-
mation on the program, call the
AHA at 856-7386.
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