St. John's University Presented with the Platinum Award by the New York Blood Center

For the third year in row, St. John’s University was presented with the Platinum Award by the New York Blood Center at the annual awards dinner at the Douglaston Manor on Thursday, June 21, 2012. The award recognizes St. John’s the as one of top University’s in blood donations with over 800 pints donated in 2011.

The dinner was an opportunity for the most successful blood drive organizers to exchange ideas, as well as to hear from speakers whose lives have been saved by blood transfusions. One honoree was a young woman, who was born with Thalassemia major, otherwise known as Cooley’s Anemia, which is characterized by production of abnormal red blood cells. Consequently, she has required blood transfusions since the age of two and still needs transfusions every two weeks in order to live.

Thanks to the University’s donors, volunteers, and NYBC account manager Joe Ferrara, the collections for 2012 are on pace to exceed last year’s record. This Spring has been the most successful semester for blood drives in St. John's history. Over 700 pints of blood have been donated on our campus since January, saving hundreds of lives.

“It’s a great credit to our students and staff to be recognized with an invitation like this,” said Joseph Sciame, Vice President of Community Relations. “It speaks of our concern for the community, for which we are widely known. We are very proud of our students and employees for their service, especially blood donation. They literally give of themselves to help the sick or injured. It’s something we all think would make St. Vincent de Paul proud.”

The Office of Community Relations, in conjunction with other university departments, student organizations and New York Blood Services, hosts several campus-wide blood drives each year in an effort to increase blood donations and raise awareness about the New York City Area blood supply. Events are open to the public and all are encouraged to donate.

New York Blood Center is the nation's largest, community-based, non-profit, independent blood center. Founded in 1964, it supplies over 200 hospitals in New York and New Jersey with a source of whole blood, platelets and plasma.

For more information about the University Blood Drives, contact Paul Lazauskas, Associate Director of Community Relations at St. John’s University by calling (718) 990-1912 or e-mail inquiries to communityrelations@stjohns.edu. 

Interested media representatives may contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice President for Media Relations at St. John’s University by calling (718) 990-6185 or e-mail inquiries to sciannad@stjohns.edu.