It’s a time for celebration at the Community Blood Bank. The 45th annual Donor Dinner takes places on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.
This year’s event offers a special honor to longtime donor Roman Kloecker, whose decades of donations have added up to 110 gallons for platelet pheresis. This special type of blood donation takes close to two hours per visit.
The dinner will recognize regular donors who have met milestones such as five, 10, 15, etc. gallons.
Donor chair people, who coordinate blood drives, will also be honored.
The Community Blood Bank said in a news release that it expects a crowd of 230 people at the event.
The theme of the dinner is “Follow Your Heart,” and the Community Blood Bank will premiere its new “Follow Your Heart” video in lieu of a guest speaker.
Here’s the video:
So far this spring, donations have been up and the Community Blood Bank has been able to maintain close to 100 percent blood supply level, said Dan Desrochers, director of Marketing & Community Relations for the Community Blood Bank, in an e-mail.
If the efforts of donors like Kloecker inspire you to follow your heart to the Community Blood Bank, it is located at 2646 Peach St. in Erie. The blood bank is open on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Video and logo courtesy of the Community Blood Bank
