News Release January 02, 2008
Contact:
Julie Scott
303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center
Highlands Ranch Donor Joins Bonfils’ 50-Gallon Club
Bruce Trautmann set to give 400th pint of blood Tuesday, Jan. 8
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (Jan. 2, 2008) – Thirty-eight years and eight months after his very first blood donation to support his military comrades, Bruce Trautmann will make his 400th donation to support Colorado’s community blood supply on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 10:30 a.m. at Bonfils Blood Center’s Highlands Ranch Community Donor Center located at 541 West Highlands Ranch Parkway, Parkway Center, Bldg. #2 in Highlands Ranch. The 62-year-old Trautmann joins only 10 other Bonfils donors to reach the milestone, but holds the distinction of being the first Highlands Ranch Community Donor Center donor to do so.
Trautmann moved to Colorado in the mid-1970s at which time he began donating blood with Bonfils. He became a platelet donor in 1993 allowing him to donate every two weeks and support patients undergoing cancer treatments.
No stranger of good deeds, Trautmann believes he would have reached 50-gallons much quicker save for unforeseen circumstances. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Trautmann spent nearly nine months in the embattled area providing disaster relief. He also spent four weeks in southern California providing assistance to families affected by the area’s wildfires this past fall keeping him from making his biweekly blood donations.
“It’s something worthwhile,” says Trautmann of blood donation. “It feels good to know that you can help several people with a single donation.”
This January Bonfils also recognizes National Blood Donor Month – a month to both raise awareness about the importance of blood donation and to thank blood donors for their selfless contributions to the community. Blood donations decline by as much as 20 percent during the winter months due to travel, adverse weather conditions and colds and flu. To thank those who take time out of their busy schedules to give blood through Jan. 26, 2008, Bonfils will give donors a cozy long-sleeved t-shirt in appreciation of their donation.
Bonfils Blood Center celebrates 65 years of saving lives through its ongoing stewardship of the community blood supply and the instrumental role it continues to play in the lives of patients in need throughout Colorado and beyond. Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 healthcare facilities and needs to collect more than 4,000 blood donations weekly to meet the needs of the community and to be prepared for any unexpected events. For information about Bonfils Blood Center please call 303.366.2000 or visit www.bonfils.org.
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