[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING NEW JERSEY BLOOD SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 2004

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor New Jersey Blood 
Services for its thirty years of dedication to blood collection and 
services. As the first regional division of the New York Blood Center, 
New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) is a non-profit corporation whose 
mission is to ``provide the safest, best quality transfusion-related 
products and services at a reasonable cost to those who will benefit, 
and to increase the body and availability of knowledge in transfusion 
medicine.'' Since its founding in 1973, NJBS has collaborated with 
companies, labor unions and community organizations in New Jersey to 
collect over 2.2 million units of blood, thus improving and even saving 
the lives of countless residents of New Jersey.
  In its thirty years of existence, New Jersey Blood Services has 
developed a strong and valuable relationship with many New Jersey based 
American Red Cross chapters. These organizations have partnered 
together in scheduling blood drives, recruiting donors and providing 
necessary services to donors during blood drives. NJBS has also been a 
leader in efforts to ensure the safety of the region's blood supply by 
piloting the ``Safeblood'' computer system and opening the Nucleic Acid 
Test Lab in 1999, to screen all blood donated for HIV and HCV. 
Moreover, NJBS has been a forerunner in the development of pheresis 
blood donation procedures, which allows for the separation of different 
blood components and is particularly helpful in treating cancer.
  New Jersey Blood Service has made remarkable and lasting 
contributions to our society through its efforts to increase both the 
quantity and the quality of our blood supply. Again, I rise today to 
honor the New Jersey Blood Service for its distinguished achievements 
in helping to enhance or save the lives of millions of patients in New 
Jersey over the past thirty years and I look forward to their continued 
good work over the next thirty years.

                          ____________________