Springfield Community Blood Center closing
People can still donate through upcoming drives.
The Springfield Community Blood Center will shut its physical doors at the end of the month but will increase the number of blood drives throughout Clark County.
The donor center at 2200 N. Limestone Street will close on Dec. 28.
The decision to close the Springfield location was difficult, CBC spokesman Mark Pompilio said, but the Community Blood Center is still committed to Clark County and serving its residents.
“It was a very tough decision to disrupt the long relationship of the Springfield donor center and the donor community,” he said. “The Springfield center is the final CBC branch to close. It was not an easy decision. CBC is a nonprofit with a challenging mission to meet the blood product needs of 23 regional hospitals. In recent years we’ve seen increased scrutiny about the cost of health care and a more conservative approach to blood usage. To keep costs down, yet maintain a safe and adequate emergency supply of blood at all times, we simply have to operate as efficiently as possible.”
The Springfield CBC has three full-time staff members who have been offered to join the Dayton CBC, Pompilio said.
“The Springfield Donor Center did offer a central location for platelet and plasma donations,” he said. “But CBC’s emphasis in 2019 and beyond is to find and recruit new platelet and plasma donors. To make it as convenient as possible, CBC must provide the machines for these special donations in the local communities at mobile blood drives.”
Platelets and plasma are vital to the treatment of cancer, organ transplant, burn, and trauma patients. New platelet donors are in high demand, especially those with blood types A, AB, or B positive, according to CBC. Find out more at www.GivingBlood.org.
“Fortunately, we have been able to transition in a timely way to new partnerships with monthly blood drives very near the current Springfield center location, and they will include machines for platelet and plasma donors,” Pompilio said.
Donors can continue to donate at several locations through the area.
Beginning Jan. 3, Mercy Health — Springfield Regional Medical Center at 100 Medical Center Drive will host a new blood drive on the first or second Thursday of every other month.
Beginning Jan. 14, the Maiden Lane Church of God at 1201 Maiden Lane will host a blood drive on the second Monday of every month from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Beginning Jan. 15, the First Christian Church of Springfield at 3638 Middle Urbana Road will host a blood drive on the third Tuesday of every month from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
All of the new blood drive locations are about three miles from the current center. The schedules also accommodate donor interest in more convenient after-work hours, Pompilio said. Donors can schedule appointments at the new blood drives or find other CBC mobile blood drives in the Springfield area online at www.DonorTime.com.