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Community Corner

Caldwell Community Blood Drive

On-line Appointment Scheduling available:  http://tinyurl.com/CaldwellBloodDrive   To register via phone, please call: 973.801.8128

For those interested in donating 2 units of red blood cells via the on-site Alyx machine, please go to http://www.bloodnj.org/10490AlyxSheets.pdf for information on the Alyx  Component Collection System.

Please remember to bring ID to the blood drive, and have plenty to eat and drink the day of the blood drive.

To give blood, you must be in generally good health, weigh 110 pounds or more, and be at least 17 years of age or 16 years of age with parental consent.  For questions about eligibility call 1-800-933-2566 or go to www.nybloodcenter.org

Children born with Cooley's Anemia, the severe form of thalassemia, require lifelong blood transfusions as often as every two weeks, starting in infancy.   Teens and adults with Cooley’s Anemia often require 40-48 units of blood per year.  They must also undergo a difficult daily treatment which for many involves sticking a needle in the stomach or leg and pumping in a medication for 8-12 hours every night.  In addition, complications such as diabetes, osteoporosis (beginning in teen years), pulmonary hypertension and hepatitis are common.  Although there have been promising advances in gene therapy in recent years, a cure is still being sought.

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