FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Adding Mondays to Olympia Donor Center

OCTOBER 2, 2006, SEATTLE WA — Puget Sound Blood Center’s Olympia Donor Center will be open Mondays, beginning Monday, October 9, 2006.  The Blood Center is adding Mondays to the Donor Center schedule to accommodate donor schedules and to make donating as convenient as possible.  The Donor Center’s previous schedule had it open Tuesdays through Saturdays.  The Blood Center scheduled several Monday openings this summer and found it to be popular with many donors.

Any coverage of the new Monday hours would be greatly appreciated.

It takes 900 people, registering every weekday, to keep our community’s blood supply at stable levels.  Many donors have busy schedules, which is understandable, especially in our busy state capital city.  But the need for blood is constant.  And patients depend on others in the community to fill that need through blood donation.

Monday openings add a sixth day to the Donor Center’s scheduled week.  The hours of operation on Mondays will be 11:00a.m. – 7:00p.m.

The Details

• Walk-ins are welcome but donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment ahead of time by calling 1-800-398-7888 or visiting Puget Sound Blood Center’s Web site at www.psbc.org.
• The Olympia Donor Center, located at 1220 Eastside Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501.
• Donor Center hours are Monday 11:00a.m.-7:00p.m., Tuesday/Wednesday 11:30a.m.-7:30p.m., Thursday 10:00a.m.-6:00p.m. and Friday/Saturday 8:30a.m.-4:00p.m.

Donating blood takes about an hour out of your busy schedule, but it is an hour well spent.  Each blood donation is a gift of life, potentially saving three lives.  Blood donations not only help those who have suffered trauma, they also help those with cancer, surgery patients, premature babies and others who cannot live without the support of volunteer blood donors.

The Blood Center has a long and unique tradition of blending community volunteerism, medical science and research to improve patients’ lives.  The Blood Center serves patients in more than 70 hospitals and clinics in 14 Western Washington counties with blood services, provides tissue and transplantation support to 185 hospitals across the Northwest.  For more information on Puget Sound Blood Center please see our Web site at www.psbc.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Tom Butterworth at 206-292-6511 or page at 206-680-2610.

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