Your Red Cross Update

This past Monday, September 27, the American Red Cross welcomed local dignitaries and members of the press to celebrate the recent opening of the San Francisco Blood and Platelet Donation Center 1663 Market Street. San Francisco Mayor London Breed thanked the Red Cross for the new community asset and emphasized the need for donors, especially given the current shortage. “You never know the impacts of what your blood can do for someone else.”

The center opened just in time. On September 14, the Red Cross launched a sickle cell initiative to grow the number of blood donors who are Black to help patients with sickle cell disease and improve health outcomes. You can learn more about the Red Cross sickle cell initiative here.   

During Monday’s event, Bay Area Board Member Nichole Jordan shared a personal story of her late brother, giving context to the real human need behind the Red Cross’ efforts. “The donations of blood transfusions they gave him were critical,” Nichole says. “It took a very long time for him to find blood.” Nichole now donates blood in her bother’s honor.

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion, including individuals experiencing childbirth complications, people fighting cancer, trauma patients in emergency rooms and those battling sickle cell disease. This new donation center provides additional opportunities for eligible donors of all races and ethnicities to give blood or platelets to increase the diversity of the blood supply. 

At Monday’s event, California State Senator Scott Wiener was also presented with the Red Cross California Legislator of the Year Award. He too, thanked the Red Cross and encouraged people to donate blood.

Event photos  

Volunteer photographer extraordinaire Eric Carmichael captured the day in photos, which you can view here.

Press coverage

Here are a few radio and TV highlights:

• KPIX: 5 p.m. coverage featuring the sickle cell initiative and powerful remarks from Mayor Breed.
• KCBS: Incredible coverage of Nichole’s sickle cell story. 
• KTVU: Morning coverage featuring the importance of a diverse blood supply and remarks from Senator Wiener on the importance of increased focus on sickle cell disease.  
• KGO: 5 p.m. coverage on the new center, featuring remarks from Mayor Breed and a renewed focus on recruiting diverse donors.  
• KQED: Featuring remarks by Justin Mueller on the importance of the new center in presenting an opportunity for both blood and platelet donors to give in San Francisco.

Here’s a sampling of newspaper and online hits: a feature in SF Bay and coverage of the event in traditional Chinese, published by Sing Tao Daily.

Thank you to the myriad staff and volunteers who teamed up to announce the center to the world. We’re grateful to share this resource with the city of San Francisco.