CT Blood Center Opens 1st Donor Center In Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Connecticut Blood Center celebrated the grand opening of its first blood donation center and blood product distribution depot in Middletown on Tuesday.

The operation “encourages the community to provide much-needed blood donations to patients being cared for in over a dozen Connecticut hospitals, while storing blood products closer to those hospitals for urgent orders,” according to a news release.

The new center is located in the Middletown Plaza at 820 Washington St., Suite 856, in Middletown.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, blood centers across the country have experienced persistent blood shortages. At the same time, hospital blood utilization has returned to pre-pandemic levels and, in many cases, has exceeded it, the news release states.

“There is no substitute for blood,” said Beau Tompkins, senior executive director of CTBC. “There is no substitute for blood. The dangerously unstable blood supply is a solvable problem, but only if our communities come together to roll up their sleeves and become regular blood donors. We are thrilled to provide that opportunity in Connecticut and believe the people of Connecticut will rise to the challenge of helping stabilize the local blood supply.”

Read more from the news release below:

Keeping the blood supply going for hospitals is a cooperative endeavor among volunteer blood donors and nonprofit community blood centers. Blood is needed to help patients with cancer, trauma victims, mothers and newborns experiencing complications during childbirth, people suffering from rare blood disorders and other chronic illnesses, or individuals who need surgery and organ transplants.

Bradford Jay Sherburne, MD, Medical Director of Transfusion Services and Clinical Laboratory for Hartford Hospital, said, “I'm thrilled that Connecticut Blood Center finally has its own donation center to help support our patients. In the wake of the pandemic, after postponing routine care, more patients than ever are requiring transfusions, but donations have not rebounded. We cannot blame a nationwide blood shortage on crowded shipping lanes or a backup of unloaded containers. The precious blood donors needed to solve this crisis are right in our backyard, and I hope the new center inspires them to give blood – an irreplaceable resource that can only come from one human being to another."

Dr. Sherburne, along with many of his colleagues at Hartford HealthCare, has already donated blood with CTBC.

CTBC is operated by Rhode Island Blood Center, a division of New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe). CTBC is part of NYBCe’s family of nonprofit community blood centers, all working toward the same goal: to ensure a safe and plentiful blood supply to the hospitals and patients they serve. Providing 50,000 blood products annually, NYBCe is the primary supplier of blood products, including red cells, platelets, and plasma, to over a dozen Connecticut Hospitals, including those belonging to Hartford HealthCare, one of the largest Connecticut healthcare systems. CTBC is also part of the National Marrow Donor Program, registering individuals throughout New England to become lifesaving stem cell donors for patients who need a transplant to survive.

The central location of the new product distribution depot is key to providing superior service to Connecticut hospitals. While hospitals estimate their blood needs and standing orders based on historical usage, closer proximity to those hospitals for unanticipated emergencies is more efficient in filling urgent and unexpected orders without delay.

“Elective surgeries can be scheduled, but people do not set appointments for accidents or complications during labor,” Tompkins said. “We receive urgent orders for those daily.”

The hospital services depot at CTBC is staffed 24/7 and operates 365 days a year.

Connecticut Blood Center promises to provide donors the professional care and service NYBCe is known for, offering convenience and comfort in the 5,000+ sq. ft. center. The center is located in the Middletown Plaza at 820 Washington Street, Suite 856, Middletown, CT, 06457. To book an appointment, visit ctblood.org, or call 800.283.8385. The center is open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Friday and every other weekend (Saturday and Sunday) from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can visit ctblood.org/hours for upcoming weekend dates. Appointments are encouraged, but donors are also welcome to walk in to donate. As a thank you, all presenting donors will receive a $10 gift card to Athenian Diner II, also located in the Middletown Plaza, while supplies last.