The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) is teaming up with The Helping Hands of Baxter Village to host a community blood drive in honor of two young residents who are undergoing treatment for cancer. The blood drive will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 from 9:00AM-3:00PM at the Village Hall in Baxter Village in Fort Mill, S.C. Sign up to donate blood at www.ncdonor.com/donate and use sponsor code: “helpinghands.” For questions, contact Amanda Ballog at 704-972-4712 or at ABallog@cbcc.us.

The drive is in support of two Baxter Village girls – 13-year-old Justine Farinick Seibel and almost three-year-old Libby Kern. Justine was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on Sept. 17, 2010. Since then, she has received over 200 doses of chemotherapy, 55 blood and or platelet transfusions, six bone marrow aspirations and 20 lumbar punctures. She hasn’t let cancer stand in her way of participating on the Baxter Barracuda’s for the past six years, including last year when she swam in three meets and served as a junior swim coach all while undergoing weekly infusions of chemotherapy. She is also a junior black belt from the Peaceful dragon and she did tai chi through some of her initial treatment. The next 12 months of her treatment will include MRIs, spinal injections, daily oral chemotherapy and steroids, and monthly infusions of chemotherapy, and possible surgeries for her weight-bearing joints.

Libby was diagnosed with an optic pathway glioma (a brain tumor of the optic nerve) on Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 at barely 19 months old. Since then, the tumor has undergone several confusing changes and Libby has suffered total vision loss in her left eye. Because the tumor has proven to be inoperable and too invasive for radiation, Libby is undergoing a regimen of chemotherapy for around 60 weeks. Despite everything and her ‘eye booboo,’ Libby loves to dance, run around and play with her two big sisters.

“We urge the community to lend a helping hand by donating blood to honor Justine [Seibel] and Libby [Kern] and to help other local patients requiring transfusion and the support of local blood donors,” said Martin Grable, president and CEO of Community Blood Center of the Carolinas. “We are fortunate to have high quality medical care in our region and the advances in medicine have never been more promising, but when transfusion is required, it’s our local donors that make the difference.”

As the primary blood supplier to the region, CBCC provides nearly 400 blood products every day to help patients being treated in area hospitals. Cancer patients are primary and frequent patients in need of blood and blood products; approximately 16% of red blood cells and 26% of platelets transfused in our region.

About Community Blood Center of the Carolinas

The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) is a non-profit community-based blood center and the primary blood supplier to 21 regional hospitals, serving patients who live in 16 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties. The mission of CBCC is to be the steward of a community resource – life-saving blood and the vision is to help build and strengthen the bonds of community. CBCC is strictly a blood center, completely focused on gathering red blood cells, platelets and plasma from volunteer donors to save local lives – every drop of blood collected stays here to help people in the Carolinas. The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas is a member of America’s Blood Centers, North America’s largest network of community-based, independent blood centers providing more than 50% of the nation’s blood supply.

For more information on community blood drives, visit www.cbcc.us or call 704-972-4700. There are also CBCC donor centers located at: 4447 South Boulevard in Charlotte; 363 Church Street North Suite 170 in Concord; 2524 East Franklin Blvd Suite E in Gastonia; and 600 Hospital Drive in Monroe.

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