Red Cross opens centerAmerican Red Cross Blood Services will celebrate the grand opening of its first Phoenix blood donor center from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 3707 N. Seventh St., Phoenix.Grand opening festivities will include a blood drive, T-shirts for all blood donors, free hot dogs and soda for visitors, and other giveaways and information about the community blood program and Red Cross services. The Red Cross Donor Center will be open Mondays through Fridays, accepting blood and platelet donations from volunteer donors. While Red Cross Blood Services has provided blood to hospitals in Southern Arizona for more than 50 years, this is the first center located in the Phoenix area. The new facility actually opened June 1, after Scottsdale Healthcare contracted to receive blood and related products and services from the American Red Cross. Blood and platelets donated at the Red Cross Donor Center will benefit patients throughout Arizona. In the Phoenix area, more than 11,000 pints of blood are needed annually to meet the needs of patients at Scottsdale Healthcare's Shea and Osborn campuses alone. Platelets, donated through a special blood donation process called apheresis, benefit cancer and leukemia patients, organ transplant recipients and people with blood disorders. For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate, call 728-9633. 
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