Howard P. Milstein, Chair of New York Blood Center (NYBC), Joins in Honoring Latest Additions to FDNY "Honor Roll of Life"

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At a late January ceremony at New York City Fire Department headquarters in downtown Brooklyn, Howard P. Milstein, chair of the New York Blood Center (NYBC), joined Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano and Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., President and CEO of NYBC, to add the names of six 2011 FDNY bone marrow donors to NYBC's "Honor Roll of Life."

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120208/NY50108-a )
(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120208/NY50108-b )

The eighth annual induction ceremony honored FDNY firefighters who made life-saving stem cell donations through the NYBC Bone Marrow Registry. New York Blood Center is one of the largest donor centers in The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) network, with more than 230,000 typed volunteer donors.

Among the firefighters honored at the "Honor Role of Life" ceremony on January 26, 2012, was James Wildes, 37, of Engine 162 on Staten Island, who had an emotional meeting with the recipient of his life-saving stem cell donation, six-year-old Alise Mareerose Williams of Evansdale, Iowa.  

The "Honor Roll of Life" ceremony comes on the heels of another banner year for NYBC. In 2011, NYBC facilitated life-saving donations from more than 500,000 people, including millions of delivered donations of blood, blood products, platelets, hemophilia clotting factor, cord blood and bone marrow.

"On behalf of everyone at the New York Blood Center, I want to thank the firefighters honored here today – and all who have helped contribute to the life-saving work of our organization," said Mr. Milstein.

"Firefighters know what it takes to save lives," Mr. Milstein added. "Today's ceremony reminds us that, with each pint of blood and every bone marrow donation, all of us can play a role in saving lives as well."  

About the FDNY/NYBC Partnership

Members of the FDNY make up New York Blood Center's single largest group of bone marrow and stem cell donors. To date, a total of 140 FDNY members have given these gifts to patients — in some cases more than once — accounting for 13 percent of all donors from New York Blood Center. FDNY encourages its members to donate blood and other blood products, such as platelets, bone marrow, and stem cells. Its bone-marrow-donation partnership with NYBC began in 1990. Over the past 20 years, the FDNY has become the single largest group on NYBC's bone marrow registry, with more than 8,000 FDNY members on the donor list. Probationary firefighters are encouraged to sign up for the bone marrow registry during their training at the Fire Academy on Randall's Island.

About New York Blood Center

New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood centers. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to hospitals serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine.

About The Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation

For more than 15 years, the Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation has been taking on some of the most challenging issues facing the world today. The Foundation's strategic gifts, institutional leadership and hands-on involvement stimulate innovation, create efficiencies and produce results in seven core areas: Medical Research, Biotechnology & Science; Higher Education & Youth; History; Religious and Communal Organizations; Arts & Culture; Law Enforcement & Homeland Security; and Civic Engagement.

SOURCE New York Blood Center