Memorial Blood Centers to Unveil Newly Remodeled Plymouth Donor Center, September 21

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With refreshments and cake, and Special Guest Plymouth Mayor Kelli Slavick, Memorial Blood Centers invites the community to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of its newly renovated Plymouth Donor Center.

What:  Memorial Blood Centers Plymouth Donor Center
Grand Re-Opening

When:  Wednesday, September 21, 2011
12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

Official Ribbon-cutting Ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m.

Where:  3021 Harbor Lane North
Plymouth

For nearly 14 years Memorial Blood Centers has called Harbor Lane in Plymouth home, welcoming loyal blood donors who have been helping to save as many as 155 lives every day. Over the past several months, construction has been underway to expand the facilities to improve the blood donation experience for donors and staff, add additional donor beds to increase collections—and, ultimately, help save even more lives in all of the communities Memorial Blood Centers serves.

"Of the 11 donor centers we operate throughout Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, the Plymouth location is one of our busiest," said Anita Hove, Memorial Blood Centers' Donor Centers Manager. "During construction, we were extremely grateful for the patience of our loyal donors. They continued to keep up a regular schedule of blood donation that has helped ensure that we've been able to meet our commitments to local hospital partners, including Maple Grove Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Waconia's Ridgeview Medical Center, and two out of the area's three Level I Trauma facilities, North Memorial Medical Center and HCMC."

"We've heard from so many donors that they are especially excited about the enhancements we're making to the facility," Hove added. "They want to help us achieve our goal of increasing the number of lives we impact through donations at Plymouth to 200 per day! We hope all of our blood donors will join us for a tour and a celebration of the lives we help save."

In addition to whole blood collections, Memorial Blood Centers' Plymouth Donor Centers has available the latest equipment needed to collect special donations such as platelets—the single component of blood that is especially vital to sustain the lives of patients battling various types of cancer, like leukemia.  Donors at the Plymouth location can also make a special automated donation of plasma, the blood component that can make a life-and-death difference to severe burn victims.

"Through the generous donations of our volunteer donors, we have been able to consistently and reliably provide the community with a stable blood supply to help save the lives of premature infants, heart surgery patients and accident victims in crisis," said Wendy Capetz, Director, Marketing and Development, Memorial Blood Centers. We are very excited to provide each of our donors with a more welcoming, comfortable, and convenient experience when they roll up their sleeves to save a life. We also are pleased to be able to show our appreciation to all of our financial contributors—individuals, businesses, and area foundations—that have helped underwrite these much-needed improvements that will enhance our donors' experiences."

About Memorial Blood Centers

Memorial Blood Centers has been saving lives for over 60 years as an independent nonprofit supplying life-saving blood to area hospitals and other partners throughout the U.S. Operating 11 donor centers and conducting hundreds of blood drives each month, Memorial Blood Centers also provides comprehensive testing and expert technical services as a national leader in transfusion medicine. For more information, call 888-GIVE-BLD or visit MBC.org.

SOURCE Memorial Blood Centers