Donor Dinner
42nd Annual Donor Dinner
The Community Blood Bank held its 42nd Annual Donor Dinner at the Bel-Aire on Thursday, April 16th at 7 p.m. The annual dinner is held to recognize those people who give so selflessly to the community by regularly giving blood. Those being honored have all met a milestone in blood donations: 5,10,15, 20 and so on up to 100 gallons. One donor, Roman Kloecker, has made time to visit the blood bank over 800 times over the past 25 years to reach the 100-gallon mark.Roman is a Platelet Pheresis Donor. During this type of donation only the Platelets ( the clotting agent) are extracted from the donor suing a special machine and the red blood is returned to him. This process takes close to two hours each donation. These platelets almost exclusively go to local cancer patients as part of their treatment. Platelet donors can donate up to 24 times a year which is why the platelet donors gallon levels get so high. Less than 100 people in the entire United States have donated that much blood.
Roman Kloecker receiving his 100 Gallon Award from Jacky Kocz, Executive Director at the CBB.
The CBB set a record with a crowd of 278 people in attendance. This year's dinner theme was "Great Expectations." The guest speaker, Dr. Jeff Richmond, a pathologist from St. Vincent Health Center, spoke about his personal experience and the importance of blood donors.
Donor Chair People (those who coordinate blood drives at their place of business or other community location) were also recognized for their efforts to keep the local blood supply safe.
In 2008, over 10,000 local patients in Northwest Pennsylvania and Western New York received blood and blood products from the generous donors to the Community Blood Bank.
