Morris Plains Area Community Blood Program

History

Originally established as the Morris Plains and Fairchild Area Blood Program in the mid 1960’s, we ran two public blood drives annually for many years.  In 1973, the Morris Plains Rotary Club became our sponsor, and the program grew to serve Morristown and the rest of Morris Township as well as Morris Plains.  As the donations decreased over the years, we increased the frequency of the drives to compensate, eventually becoming the monthly program it is now.

For many years, our blood program has consistently been one of the top three community blood programs in the State of NJ. We currently collect over 1,000 pints of blood for area hospitals every year. Since 1973, we have collected over 15,000 pints of blood.

In most cases, patients who need blood products don’t receive whole blood.  Blood is typically separated into three components, red cells (hemoglobin), platelets and plasma. These blood products are transfused into patients according to their need.  Each pint of blood donated typically helps three people who could not survive without it.

Projects include:

• We run blood drives every month. For many years we were at the Borough School and then the Presbyterian Church.  Since the beginning of the COVOD-19 pandemic, we have been at the Morris Plains Community Center.
• We are currently running blood drives twice a month to help with the severe blood shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• As well as whole blood, we also collect “double reds” or two pints of red blood cells, through an apheresis process known as ALYX.

Become a Donor!

New donors are always welcome.  Before each blood drive, a notice is posted on the Borough web site with contact information to make an appointment.  For information, please feel free to contact larryripley@verizon.net or 973-998-1081.