PALMER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The chief operating officer of Miller-Keystone Blood Center said Wednesday that the United States is in the middle of the most critical national blood shortage in its history.
To try to help ease that dire situation for the 33 hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey to which Miller-Keystone provides blood, the agency has opened a new Easton-area location.
- The Easton site of Miller Keystone Blood Center has been relocated to a bigger, more visual space
- Those who work there sayd hey hope it will bring in more donors
- The new site in on Nicholas Street in Palmer Township
The ribbon was cut Wednesday at the new spot on Nicholas Street in Palmer Township. Those with the center say the site makes it more visible to the public and easier to find.
'Support thousands of people'
Nemeh said Miller Keystone Blood Center hopes the center will be more accessible and therefore draw in more people to give blood.
“This new location is going to open five days a week and it will offer morning, afternoon and evening appointments for the convenience of our blood donors in that area and it will be staffed with six full time specialists to take care of those donors,” he said.
"We need 350 blood donors to visit our sites every day, actually on a daily basis to be able to meet the demands of blood transfusion at those hospitals."Rami Nemeh, Chief Operating Officer, Miller-Keystone Blood Center
He said that although the new location is fully staffed, Miller-Keystone is in dire need of collection specialists.
“Our goal is to be able to collect close to 4,000 red cells and about 1,000 platelets in that new location on an annual basis to be able to support thousands of lives in our region," Nemeh said.
The larger space has room to accommodate five donors, while the previous location only had three donor beds.
“We need 350 blood donors to visit our sites every day, actually on a daily basis to be able to meet the demands of blood transfusion at those hospitals,” he said.
Those interested in becoming a blood donor can go to the Miller-Keystone website.
