Blood bank launches campaign to fund new freezers

LifeStream Blood Bank, which provides blood products to more than 80 Southern California hospitals, is renovating its San Bernardino laboratory this year.

One of the capital project’s major components is the replacement of 20-year-old walk-in laboratory freezers. The two custom-built freezers, which cost about $150,000 each, are crucial to LifeStream’s mission of collecting, processing and storing blood products to be delivered to hospitals, according to a news release.

To raise funds for the project, LifeStream is asking blood donors, the public, small businesses and corporate partners to support its 2 for 2 Community Campaign from February through April. Suggested donations range from $2 for individuals to $2,500 for businesses.

LifeStream has set a $100,000 fundraising goal for this campaign to cover a portion of the costs of building two new freezers.

“Our laboratory freezers must maintain temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius while staff enter and leave multiple times a day,” Dr. Rick Axelrod, LifeStream’s president, chief executive officer and medical director, said in the news release.

“The two freezers currently in use are over 20 years old and are dangerously close to the end of their lifespan. To meet California Air Resources Board guidelines, the new environmentally friendly freezers we are building cannot use a Freon-based cooling system,” Axelrod said.

The freezers are essential to blood component processing. Each unit of whole blood can be broken down into multiple components, and each component is used to treat specific patients, according to the news release.

Many blood components also need to be stored at specific temperatures.

To make a secure online donation, go to lstream. org/freezers. Checks may be mailed to LifeStream’s 2 for 2 Campaign, 384 W. Orange Show Road, San Bernardino, CA 92408, or deposited in a collection box at any of LifeStream’s donor centers, in San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, Victorville, Murrieta,

La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Placentia and Hemet.

LifeStream is a nonprofit blood bank serving hospitals in six Southern

California counties. For information or to make an appointment to donate blood, call 800-TRY-GIVING or go to LStream. org.