Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC) and New York Blood Center (NYBC) Join Forces

KANSAS CITY, Mo. and NEW YORK, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC) and New York Blood Center (NYBC) announced today that they are combining their operations to create one of the leading blood centers serving patients and hospitals in the Northeast and Midwest United States.

The combination of the strengths of CBC and NYBC provides the opportunity for greater breadth of services, efficiency and financial stability. The goal is to continue to provide the highest level of blood and hematology related products and services available in today's fast changing world.  Under the terms of the agreement, which were not disclosed, CBC will continue to operate under its own name in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

CBC is one of the major blood centers in the Midwest. Founded in 1958, CBC provides blood products in their service area of Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Topeka. The organization's Board of Directors had been considering a strategic partner to help ensure long-term viability in a changing and interconnected healthcare environment.  After reviewing a number of options, CBC believes it has found the perfect partner in NYBC.

CBC Board Chair Mark Schmidtlein said: "This is an exciting day in the continuing development of CBC as an institution. Our partnership with NYBC will allow us to grow, remain state-of-the-art and move into exciting new areas."

NYBC Chairman Howard P. Milstein said: "We are pleased to join with CBC. CBC is an outstanding institution serving the Kansas City area and the ideal partner for our Center as we diversify our operations. As the market for blood services and products evolves, we believe this combination will be of great benefit to both organizations as we continue to provide the highest quality blood products, services and cutting-edge research and development."

Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., President and CEO of NYBC, said: "For five decades, NYBC has worked to achieve the highest standards, and I can think of no better partner to help advance this mission than Community Blood Center. We have a shared vision of the future of blood and hematology related products and services. I look forward to working to ensuring the finest customer-focused service for our hospitals and patients."

Jay E. Menitove, M.D., President/CEO and Medical Director of CBC, said: "CBC looks forward to expanding transfusion and blood collection services in our communities as a result of this combination."

CBC's donors and volunteers will continue to receive the same service and support under the CBC name, while hospital customers will receive the same high-quality blood products and services that have come to expect from CBC. The long-term goal will be to maximize the operational synergies between the two organizations.

In an exciting expansion of CBC's offerings, NYBC's cutting-edge medical, laboratory and testing services will likely become part of the organization's offering to current and future customers.

The combination is expected to be completed by June, 2014.

About Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC)
Community Blood Center serves hospitals in the Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. CBC provides nearly 200,000 blood products per year to approximately 70 area hospitals – and calls upon about 580 donors each day to meet the need for a life-saving gift of blood.  The blood center makes timely deliveries of safe, high-quality products to meet transfusion needs, for routine care and emergencies. Website:  http://www.savealifenow.org/

About New York Blood Center
Now celebrating its 50^th anniversary, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the country. Each year, NYBC provides approximately one million blood products to nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast. NYBC also provides a wide array of transfusion-related medical services. NYBC is also home to the world's largest public cord blood bank, which provides stem cells for transplant in many countries, and a renowned research institute, which – among other milestones -- developed the Hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification technology.  Website:  www.nybloodcenter.org

SOURCE New York Blood Center