News Release June 12, 2006

Bonfils Blood Center Streamlines Workforce; Eliminates Jobs

For more information contact:
Jessica Maitland
303.363.2364
Bonfils Blood Center

Julie Scott
303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center

DENVER (June 21, 2006) - Bonfils Blood Center announced today it has eliminated 29 positions and dissolved another 23 positions through unfilled vacancies in an effort to streamline its operations to accommodate a reduction in Colorado blood usage and to maintain its role as a viable and valuable resource to our community and the constituents we serve.

A situation analysis revealed that although Bonfils had been preparing for significant growth because of an aging population and real estate boom, the blood center is witnessing a 4.6 percent average annual decrease in Colorado blood usage. Budget cuts and restructuring are necessary to stabilize the blood center’s growth over the next 18 months or more to support collecting and processing 225,000 units of blood annually.

“Our community should be assured that the products we deliver to patients in need will maintain the highest level of safety, purity and potency as we adjust to these staffing changes,” says Thomas C. Puckett, chief executive officer of Bonfils Blood Center. “Bonfils continues to need 4,350 people to donate each week to meet the needs of the community, so your donations to support patients in need are as important as ever.”

For more than 60 years, Bonfils Blood Center has supported the community blood supply and has played an instrumental role in the lives of patients in need throughout Colorado and beyond. Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 healthcare facilities. For information about Bonfils Blood Center, please visit www.bonfils.org or call 303.341.4000 or 800.365.0006.