It’s Official: Kentucky Bleeds Blue UK BEATS UofL LEXINGTON, KY, Sept. 14, 2007 —In the Battle of the Bluegrass Blood Donor Challenge University of Kentucky fans overwhelmed University of Louisville fans. The final score in the month-long competition is UK 9095, UofL 4417 Led by the respective university alumni associations, the Battle of the Bluegrass Blood Donor Challenge called for anyone donating blood to the Kentucky Blood Center Aug. 13 – Sept. 13 to “vote” for their favorite team. “Each blood donation can save up to three lives, so this competition’s real winners are the potential 40,536 patients who depend on generous blood donors” said Jim Tinker, Kentucky Blood Center spokesperson. The Champion Trophy was presented to the UK Alumni Association prior to the football game Saturday in the UK Alumni Association Tailgate Tent. The Kentucky Blood Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a safe, adequate blood supply for patients in 67 hospitals and clinics thanks to generous blood donors in 62 counties. July 5, 2006 BLOOD- PHERESIS DONORS REACH MILESTONES by Megan Potter, Herald-Leader Staff Writer

Lexington Herald Leader Mon. June 5, 2006

FEEDBACK

Toyota a vital link in blood supply line
By Susan Berry-Buckley

      A Toyota team member breaks away from the busy Camry assembly line to go on a lifesaving mission.
The worker has volunteered to give blood and is keeping her and her company's commitment to help save lives in hospitals across Central and Eastern Kentucky.

      This simple act of volunteerism is repeated throughout that shift by dozens of other Toyota employees, and on successive shifts that day and the next, and then again during two more blood drives scheduled later in the year.
     

      It is a textbook performance of corporate responsibility, something Toyota has demonstrated in this community since the day 20 years ago it broke ground to build its Georgetown plant.

      Toyota's first blood drive with Central Kentucky Blood Center was held in August 1987, nine months before the first car even rolled off the line. Since that time, Toyota workers have made an astounding 38,498 donations and grown to be the No. 1 blood donor group in this region. The men and women of Toyota have worked their way up to donating blood at an annual rate of 3,000 pints. It's all because of a generous corporate policy that allows workers the time to step away from their jobs for an hour to give the "gift of life."

      This dazzling display of bigheartedness requires careful planning and coordination of the movement of team members to and from the blood drive so time away from the job of turning out a half-million cars a year is minimized.
But Toyota makes it all work for its bottom line and for Kentucky patients who need blood. It is "extreme philanthropy" in action.

      The blood center salutes Toyota on its 20th anniversary in Kentucky. Where would this region's health care system be without the giving spirit of Toyota team members, past and present, which helps ensure that blood will be available when needed?

      Thankfully, we won't have to know.

Lexington Herald Leader Mon. Jan. 30, 2006

CATS 78/1,320  HOGS 76/1,190

BLEEDING BLUE

   Kentucky didn't just beat Arkansas 78-76 on the hardwood yesterday. The Cats also claimed victory over the Razorbacks by collecting more blood.

  In a three day drive that began Wednesday, UK fans and Central Kentucky Blood Center squared off with UA and Community Blood Center of the Ozarks. Kentucky beat back the Razorbacks with 1,230 donations compared to Arkansas' 1,190.

   A traveling trophy was awarded to UA for having a higher percentage of donors when compared to its student population. UK has 25,686 students, while UA has 17,821, said Central Kentucky Blood Center spokesman Dan Dickson.

   Tues. Jan. 24, 2006

Four Central Kentuckians go on TV to give as they have received

By Mary Meehan   HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

The four blood recipients starring in a TV ad urging blood donation are Quintissa Peake, left, Gary King, Jim Riggie and Amelia Brown.

   Gary King holds a dubious distinction.   In the 24 hours after he crushed both legs in a tractor accident, the Lexington man received a record 48 pints of blood at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Even after 14 years, that one-day mark stands.

   King, who now walks with prosthetic legs, knows he owes his life to the anonymous donors who each donated a pint of blood. King is now encouraging others to do the same. Along with three other Central Kentuckians, he's featured in a Central Kentucky Blood Center commercial to encourage donors to give.

   "They are just four ordinary people who represent thousands of others in the community," blood center spokesman Dan Dickson said. "We sort of just wanted to put a face on this."

   Twelve hours of surgery and 49 pints of blood allowed Amelia Brown of Lexington to survive a liver transplant. Jim Riggle of Frankfort had only hours to live because of a ruptured artery in his abdomen before receiving 30 pints of blood. Quintissa Peake, who has sickle cell anemia, depends on regular transfusions because of her illness. She has received 153 pints.

   King's accident happened in 1992, when he was riding his farm tractor and hopped off to move some brush out of his path. Although the tractor was in park, King's coat caught the gear shift, causing the machine to lurch forward. The tractor wheels crushed his legs, and the mower blades sliced through them. A trauma team worked for hours to stabilize him, and during the next several months, before he was released from the hospital, he received 210 pints of blood.

   Winter is a crucial time for the blood center, Dickson said. As the weather gets colder, people tend not to respond to blood drives as much, but the demand remains constant.

   Because of some of the medicine he takes, Riggle isn't able to give blood, but he called the blood center to see whether there was something else he could do. "I just wanted to give something back," he said.

   King gave blood before his accident and continues to donate, but the near-tragedy has changed his life in other ways. He went back to school and now creates prosthetics for others, using his own story as a way to help people see that there is hope beyond the immediate shock of losing limbs. He said people sometimes recognize him from the commercials, but usually their comments are more along the lines of "did we go to school together" than "I saw you on TV."   He feels a little strange telling people they probably recognize him from the commercial but jokes with Dickson that he has yet to receive his royalty check for the work.

   Peake, who will need occasional transfusions for the rest of her life, said a few folks have commented on the TV spots. Because of her disease -- a condition in which the body lacks enough healthy red blood cells -- she can't give blood. But, she said, she gives speeches when asked and was glad that her television debut might help someone else in need of blood. "Just to be able to do this is a blessing," she said.

If UK is in your blood ...

   All Wildcats fans who claim to bleed blue have a chance to prove it during the 12th annual Game for Life Blood Drive . Fans of the University of Kentucky will square off with those who love the University of Arkansas for a three-day drive, starting Wednesday. Last year, Kentucky eked out a victory off the court with 1,172 donors, compared with 1,140 for Arkansas. The blood center is offering two door prizes -- a pair of courtside seats to the Jan. 29 UK-Arkansas game, and a UK basketball signed by Tubby Smith.

   There are blood-donor centers in Lexington , Somerset , Pikeville and Prestonsburg. During the three-day competition, there will be blood drives across UK 's campus. For hours and locations, go to www.ckbc.org . For information, call (859-276-2534).

2005 Big Blue Crush

Blood Drive

    Tennessee has won the 18th Annual Big Blue Crush blood drive over Kentucky by just 116 pints. The final score was Tennessee 2,762, Kentucky 2,646. Each year, the University of Kentucky and Central Kentucky

Blood Center take on the University of Tennessee and Medical Regional Blood Center to see which region can collect the most blood. Kentucky had its best Crush drive since 2000 and had its 6th highest total in the 18 years of competition. Both sides have now done a lot toward providing the blood

needed over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. Central Kentucky Blood Center thanks its loyal donors who gave generously during Crush week and looks forward to another spirited competition in 2006.

Blood Center Breaks Ground On Its

New Home At Beaumont

Thursday September 22, 2005
By Barbara Isaacs
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER 

   Central Kentucky Blood Center broke ground today on its new $8.2 million building at the Beaumont Centre.

   “For the first time in our history we'll have a home of our own,” said George Miller, chair of the blood center's board of directors. Construction is expected to take about 14 months, with the blood center moving into the new facility in early 2007.

    It's the first new building the blood center has ever constructed. Ever since the blood center began operations in 1968, it's moved into existing buildings. One of its first homes was in the basement of the former Perkins Pancake House on Limestone, and even the current facility at 330 Waller Avenue was originally the Fayette County Health Department.

    The new blood center, at 3121 Beaumont Centre Circle, will include a donor center and processing lab. The facility will be 40,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the Waller building.

   “This is a new chapter in the history of the Central Kentucky Blood Center,” said Ted Bassett, chairman of the blood center's Champions Committee, which is raising money for the new building. “Remember that blood is like the air we breathe. We take it for granted, unless there's a crisis.”

    Central Kentucky Blood Center collected 78,000 pints of blood during fiscal year 2004-05. The blood center serves 59 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky, providing blood to 67 hospitals and clinics. More than 25 percent of all the blood collected in the region is used at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, said Dan Dickson, communications director for the blood center.

The Business of Blood

An interview with

Central Kentucky Blood Center President and CEO Susan Berry-Buckley

By Tom Martin
BUSINESS LEXINGTON
Sept. 9, 2005

    Central Kentucky Blood Center serves 67 hospitals and clinics in 59 central and eastern Kentucky counties with a crucial human need only humans can provide. Business Lexington spoke with president and CEO Susan Berry-Buckley about a blood center's challenges and how the business community can provide support as well as benefit from its services. A Bizcast interview with Berry-Buckley can be heard on www.bizlex.com.

BizLex: Tell us about the demand for your services.

SBB: The need for blood donations never, ever takes a vacation. We have to make sure people keep walking in the door to donate blood. The transfusion requirements in this area are ongoing.

BizLex: Because of Toyota, we hear a lot about the automotive industry's system of providing parts on an “in-time” basis. Is there something of a similarity here?

SBB: I never thought about that, but that is exactly right. We would like to have a three-, four-, five-day supply on hand all the time. But in reality, what we have usually is a day's supply - a “just-in-time” inventory that can change in the blink of an eye. One patient coming into one of our 67 client hospitals or clinics can turn the situation around. UK Med Center is a trauma center. I've read articles that have said that half of the blood transfusions in the US are used in trauma situations. So it's something we have to be prepared for all the time.

BizLex: A day's supply. Can you elaborate? What does that mean?

SBB: It actually means what we have on the shelves both in our hospitals and in our own center. So it would last for about a day in terms of the average usage of the hospitals.

BizLex: These days, when we talk about catastrophe, we tend to think about 9/11 or Madrid or New Orleans. Heaven forbid that anything like that might ever happen here in Kentucky. Perhaps more likely would be some natural catastrophe or large-scale accident unrelated to terrorism. How do you prepare for that?

SBB: We're fortunate to be plugged into a network of hospitals. On a national level, there is an inter-organizational council for emergency preparedness. They consist of a whole alphabet-soup of blood agencies, including the armed services blood program, the American Association of Blood Banks, the FDA and Health and Human Services that we could call on if we had a monumental occurrence that we could not take care of here.

BizLex: Is it difficult to get people to give blood?

SBB: Yes. Approximately half the population is eligible to donate blood, but unfortunately only 5 percent do so. I've heard a lot of reasons why this is so: fear of the needle is one. But primarily it's because people aren't asked and because people say they don't have time to donate blood.

BizLex: How do you solicit support from businesses, and what can businesses do to encourage their employees to give blood?

SBB: We have a great partnership with the business communities not only in Lexington, but in all 59 counties that we serve. We have in the neighborhood of 1,400 blood drives that go on every year, many of which take place on the premises of businesses. In order for a business to sponsor a blood drive, they can contact the blood center by phone or on our Web site (www.ckbc.org) - it gives a list of donor resource consultants, people a business can work with to sponsor a blood drive.

BizLex: Are certain blood types rarer than others?

SBB: Yes, there are. Group “O” is most frequent in the population, and so most patients need that. So we have a high demand for “O” and “A” as well. Group “AB” is the least frequent and the rarest.

BizLex: What kind of shelf life does donated blood have?

SBB: We're able to fractionate our blood into three components. When a donor gives blood, it helps three patients. We've got one component known as red blood cells, which has a shelf life of 42 days. Another component is called a platelet, a cell that is responsible for clotting. That has only a 5-day shelf life. Then there is the liquid portion, which is called plasma. If it is frozen soon after collection, plasma has a one-year shelf life.

BizLex: Is it a given that when a hospital comes into existence that they establish a relationship with the blood center?

SBB: They have to. Depending on what kinds of services a hospital wants to offer, a blood center is a very critical and integral part of health care delivery - especially in this area. Without an adequate and safe blood supply, the level of sophistication of what a hospital can offer in terms of services and programs is really limited. For example, we here in central and eastern Kentucky wouldn't be seeing bone marrow transplants, liver transplants, open heart surgeries and the like without an adequate and safe blood supply. A recent survey found that 30 percent of a hospital's revenue is derived from services that require blood and that the cost of blood acquisition is less than one percent of a hospital's whole budget.

BizLex: Are there any particular companies doing things creatively on the incentive side to encourage employees to become donors?

SBB: Our biggest and best donor group is Toyota. They are fabulous. They're now holding four blood drives a year. Businesses do all sorts of things to encourage donation. And then there is state government, which gives employees a half-day off to donate blood. We had a wonderful promotion going on this summer - “Fly Me to Orlando” - in which any donor who donated this summer had their name put into a pot for a drawing for a trip to Orlando and to Disney World.

BizLex: Incentives are important, but there is another reason to do this: plain old civic duty. Does the experience of giving blood impart that sense of duty upon the donor?

SBB: I can speak for myself. When I donate blood (you always hear that you feel better physically, and I can't claim that I feel better physically) but psychologically, I was pumped. There's just something about knowing that something that is so simple to do - the whole process takes less than an hour - can make such a difference in people's lives.

BizLex: How often can you donate?

SBB: You can give a number of different ways. Technology has hit the blood banking business, and we have something called automated blood collection. If you give the standard blood donation, you can do that every 56 days. We have another process that requires automation, and that is platelet apheresis. You can do that every two weeks.

BizLex: What is the youngest age for a blood donor?

SBB: 17 years of age. One of our most successful segments of the population that we collect from is high school students. As a matter of fact, in the next couple of weeks, we'll start having blood drives at the high schools for 17-year-olds. They're fabulous donors.

BizLex: How do you account for that enthusiasm?

SBB: The 18-24 year olds are very in tune with helping the planet. This year, a number of organizations - the American Red Cross, American Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks - got together with the Ad Council and produced a spot just for the 18-24 year olds and the theme was: one person can make a difference.

BizLex: What's coming up?

SBB: September 22 we're having a groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility in Beaumont Center. We've been in the building on Waller Avenue since '79 and we are busting at the seams. In order to continue providing services, we had to do something. We've been in the process of investigating what best to do for three years and the bottom line was that the best thing to do would be to construct a new building.

BizLex: Where did the expansion funds come from?

SBB: The Waller Avenue building will be sold; we've saved some money; we will be borrowing some money and we're going to the community, asking for donations. So that combination will give us enough to fund this project.

GIVING BACK, AT LAST

Teen celebrates turning 17 by donating blood

By Terez Paylor, Lexington Herald Leader

FIVE QUESTIONS

Lexington Herald Leader

Mon, Mar. 14, 2005

BLOOD BANK HOPES FOR

INCREASED DEPOSITS

Of Eligible Donors, Only One in Eight Gives

    Susan Berry-Buckley has been president and chief executive officer of the Central Kentucky Blood Center since 1995. She leads a staff of 195 people dedicated to collecting blood donations in 59 Central and Eastern Kentucky counties.

    CKBC is a member of America's Blood Centers, which includes an international network of 450 community centers providing half of the nation's blood supply. Together, America's Blood Centers are the largest suppliers of blood products and services in the United States.

    CKBC collects around 74,000 pints of blood each year and distributes it to 67 hospitals in the Eastern half of the state, including all Lexington hospitals.

    Berry-Buckley, 54, holds a bachelor's degree in medical technology from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and a master's degree in human resource development from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Before working at CKBC, Buckley worked at blood centers in Texas and Indiana. She is married and has one stepson.  

    Buckley talked recently about CKBC and herself with staff writer Cassondra Kirby.

    Question: In general, how much community support is CKBC receiving?

    Answer: Actually, the blood centers right here in Lexington and elsewhere aren't getting the support we really need. Nationally as well as here, 40 percent of the people can donate blood, but we only see 5 percent of the population rolling up their sleeves and giving blood. That's a problem.

    Q: Why aren't blood donors paid as an incentive to attract more donors and prevent blood-supply shortages?

    A: Blood supply here and across the nation is strictly voluntary.

The theory behind an all-volunteer donor base is if a person is not motivated by anything, such as money, they are more likely to be honest and accurate with their health history. We try to minimize anything that would cause people to fib about their health background.

    Q: Where does the CKBC receive its funding to operate?

    A: The blood components that we collect ... and test are sold to the 67 hospitals we serve. For example, the most commonly used component is called red blood cells. The hospitals pay $170 for a pint. That would be a standard dose which would be transfused to an adult patient.

    Q: Have you noticed a change in the number of people that donate over the years?

    A: Basically, the number of donors have remained pretty level, no major increases. What we are worried about is some of the best donors are folks from the World War II generation, and when they can no longer onate we will be searching for new donors and they are not stepping up so far.

    Q: Are you afraid of needles?

    A: No, not at all. I've been around them forever. Even as a kid in high school, I worked in a hospital. Needles and blood, they don't bother me.