[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE BONFILS BLOOD CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 9, 2003

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize an organization that has been dedicated to providing life-
saving care to the citizens of Colorado for sixty years. Bonfils Blood 
Center operates several community donor centers statewide, including 
one in Pueblo, Colorado. I would like to take this opportunity to thank 
the employees and donors of Bonfils Blood Center before this body of 
Congress and this nation.
  Since 1943, Bonfils has been an integral part of the health care 
system in Colorado, and now serves more than ninety health care 
facilities across the state. When the centers first opened, Bonfils 
annually collected 1,600 units of blood; today the center collects 
nearly 200,000 units each year. Pueblo's Bonfils Center opened in 1990 
and consistently supplies about ten percent of the blood collected each 
year in Colorado. In addition to their blood supply services, Bonfils 
also operates the Colorado Marrow Donor Program and Laboratories at 
Bonfils. This vital public service is possible only with the help of 
innumerable donors and local organizations, the community support 
Bonfils relies on to continue its long record of success.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize the Bonfils Blood 
Center and its employees for their dedication to health care in 
Colorado. Hospitals and patients all over Colorado rely on Bonfils for 
a safe and adequate blood supply, a service Bonfils has effectively 
delivered for six decades. It is my distinct pleasure to honor that 
record of success today.

                          ____________________