Saving Kids' Lives is Focus of New 'Pints for Half-Pints' Blood Donor Campaign as Blood Shortage Looms

Kids Ask for More Blood Donations Because They Need Blood Too

'Half-Pints' From 40 Cities to Kick-Off Campaign at SeaWorld Orlando

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 1999 -- A nationwide effort to put a young face on the need for and importance of blood donation kicks off Thursday (Oct. 14) at SeaWorld Orlando. More than 40 youngsters who are alive today because of blood donations will launch the first national blood donor recruitment campaign that focuses on the blood needs of children.

"The long-term goal of the "Pints for Half-Pints: Giving Kids Another Chance" campaign is to cultivate a new, healthy, young generation of committed blood donors for the next millennium," said Dr. Celso Bianco, President, America's Blood Centers (ABC). "We must raise the nation's consciousness about the importance of blood donations, especially among young people. Right now, Americans take it for granted that blood will be there when they need it. "Each year, fewer people donate blood, yet the number of blood transfusions is increasing. Encouraging young people to become faithful donors is our best hope in reversing a nationwide decline in donations," said Dr. Bianco.

ABC, the non-profit association of independent community blood centers that collect almost half of the U.S. blood supply, and its Foundation are sponsoring the youth-oriented campaign.

SeaWorld Orlando is hosting the campaign kick-off as an extension of its commitment to blood donor recruitment efforts. For many years, the adventure park has encouraged blood donation, partnering with Central Florida Blood Bank, ABC's Orlando blood center member, for employee blood drives and community efforts. Through the "Pints for Half-Pints" campaign, SeaWorld hopes to reach potential donors and support families nationwide.

"Because Orlando is one of the world's top vacation destinations, maintaining a blood supply -- not only for residents but also for millions of visitors -- is crucial. Many communities around the country are facing the same challenge," Dr. Bianco said.

A recent study by the National Blood Data Resource Center showed that individual donations declined from 14 million in 1994 to 12.6 million in 1997. Transfusion rates increased three percent during that same period. This trend is expected to continue with 11.7 million collections and 11.9 million transfusions predicted for the year 2000, according to the study. As a result, demand for blood is expected to exceed supply, resulting in chronic regional and local shortages year-round. To raise awareness about shortages and the need for blood every day, ABC members will promote the first-ever "Pints for Half-Pints" Year 2000 Weekly Calendar, a cornerstone of the blood centers' campaign. The calendar, which can be used as a weekly planner, features pictures and stories of 55 children from across the country who are alive because of the generosity of volunteer blood donors.

Among those included in the calendar are premature babies and children with aplastic anemia, congenital heart defects, leukemia, liver cancer and sickle cell anemia, and trauma accident victims. The calendars will be sold to raise funds for education programs about blood and its uses.

"While children are not old enough to donate blood themselves, their lives often depend upon blood being 'on the shelf' when it is needed. It's a wonderful feeling to know that less than one hour of a volunteer donor's life makes such an important difference in a child's life," Dr. Bianco said.

Of the nation's 69 million children, hundreds of thousands suffer from diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell disease that require blood. Many must receive periodic blood transfusions during their entire lifetime. More than 3,000 new cases of leukemia are diagnosed in children under 15 each year. While their survival rates have risen to 73 percent, leukemia remains the #1 disease killer of children. Leukemia patients often undergo severe chemotherapy regimens that require weekly transfusions of platelets (to prevent internal bleeding) and red blood cells (to treat anemia). It is not unusual for young leukemia patients to receive eight units of blood a week. (A unit is approximately one pint.)

"If I did not get blood all of the time, I would not be alive today," said Dustin Donovan, a 10-year-old leukemia patient from Bridgeville, Del., who is one of the ABC Half-Pints children attending the kick-off event in Orlando.

Sickle cell anemia strikes one in every 500 African American children and one in every 1,000 Hispanic American children. New treatments for the disease call for transfusions of up to four units of red blood cells per month - for life. Regular blood transfusions reduce the rate of strokes among children with sickle cell by 90 percent, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Lindsey Proctor, an ABC Half-Pint from Memphis, Tenn., who has sickle cell anemia, suffered pneumonia eight times and had a stroke before she started receiving monthly blood transfusions in 1994. Now 12, Lindsey has received more than 50 units of blood and is symptom-free.

Babies born prematurely rely on blood transfusions because they tend to suffer complications. Blood tests are needed every day to identify any new problems. As a result, these infants often become anemic. Transfusions of red blood cells are used to treat anemia and help them develop normally. In 1996, 7.4 percent of all babies were born with a low birth-weight.

Mark Randall Samuel was born weighing 1 pound, 7 ounces. Two surgeries and regular blood transfusions during his first three months gave the New York City Half-Pint the strength he needed to survive. Today, Mark is "seven going on 30," said his mother Beverly. "He does all the normal things kids do. There's no doubt about it; all those transfusions saved his life," she said.

ABC blood centers will distribute "Pints for Half-Pints" posters, tent cards and T-shirts. These items, the Year 2000 Weekly Calendar and the kick- off event were made possible by corporate sponsors, including Adam's Mark Orlando, American Airlines, Baxter Healthcare-Fenwal division, FamousArtists, Kendro Laboratory Products, Maritz Travel, Mears Transportation, Northwest Airlines and SeaWorld Orlando.

For more information about the "Pints for Half-Pints: Giving Kids Another Chance" campaign, please call America's Blood Centers at 1-888-USBLOOD, or (202) 393-5725, ext. 21. To learn the location of the nearest blood center, call 1-88-BLOOD-88, or visit ABC's web site: www.americasblood.org.

Web site: http://www.americasblood.org

CONTACT: Melissa McMillan of America's Blood Centers at 202-393-5725, ext. 21, or email Melissa McMillan