National Sickle Cell Awareness Month: New York Blood Center, Kings County HospitalCenter, Civic Leaders Call on Brooklyn Community to Donate Blood

News Advisory:

In recognition of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month (September), Kathleen Grima, MD, Acting Chief Medical Officer, New York Blood Center (NYBC) and Jean G. Leon, RN, MPA, Senior Vice President, Central Brooklyn Family Health Network and Executive Director, Kings County Hospital Center will be joined by healthcare leaders, patients and their families to raise awareness of the disease and the need for blood donors in the Brooklyn community today (Sept. 19) 10:30AM, at Kings County Hospital Center, 471 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn.

In addition to Dr. Grima and Ms. Leon, the event will include remarks from New York State Sen. Kevin S. Parker; Dr. Peter Gillette, Director of Adult Sickle Cell Program, Kings County Hospital Center; and two sickle disease patients—Ms. Audrey Pullum and Ms. Sheryl Breedy—who will discuss how donated blood has helped their treatment. At the event, speakers will discuss the management of Sickle Cell Disease in the Brooklyn community and why more donors are needed from the community.

One in 500 African Americans suffers from Sickle Cell Disease—an inherited blood disorder that affects the hemoglobin protein found in red blood cells—and most require countless blood transfusions during the course of their life. As the New York metro area’s main supplier for blood and blood products, New York Blood Center has a natural role to play in calling attention to this disease.

New York Blood Center (NYBC), one of the nation’s largest non-profit, community-based blood centers, has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to patients in New York and New Jersey hospitals since 1964. NYBC includes five regional recruitment, collection and distribution operations in Manhattan, Brooklyn/Staten Island, Long Island, New Jersey and the Hudson Valley. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, the National Cord Blood Program and Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world’s first and largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion and Hemophilia Services) through its medical professionals and transfusion medicine physicians.

------

DATE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

TIME: 10:30 AM PLACE: KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL CENTER, 471 CLARKSON AVE., D BUILDING (5th FLOOR LINK), BROOKLYN

Contact Information

Gladwyn Lopez

Media Contact

Rubenstein Communications

Contact via E-mail