New Jersey Blood Services to Hold Blood Drive May 17 at Verizon's Livingston Office

With the Memorial Day weekend coming up, the need to build up the area's blood supply is vital.

Verizon New Jersey - along with the New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Center - will host a blood drive on Thursday (May 17) at Verizon's office in the Eisenhower Corporate Center, 290 West Mt. Pleasant Ave., in Livingston.  One pint of donated blood can be given to up to three people, as the blood is broken down into various components used for different purposes.

The blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in conference room K near the cafeteria and is open to the public and to neighboring businesses and building tenants.  Nearly everyone age 17 (age 16 with parents' written permission) to 75, who weighs a minimum of 110 pounds and is in good health is eligible to donate.   People age 76 and older can donate if they meet all donor-eligibility requirements and have written permission from a doctor.

"This is the time of year when it is vitally important to donate blood, as donations begin to fall over the Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer," said Marie Forrestal, director of donor recruitment for New Jersey Blood Services.  "We appreciate Verizon taking the lead in mobilizing this corporate community during this important time."

Sam Delgado, vice president of external affairs for Verizon New Jersey and Newark chair of the 2012 New Jersey Volunteer Leadership Campaign for the New York Blood Center, said, "Donating blood is giving the gift of life to another person.  We welcome anyone who may be interested in participating in the blood drive because maintaining an adequate blood supply is crucial for the well-being of our communities."

People interested in learning more about donating can contact New Jersey Blood Services toll free at 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org.

About New York Blood Center
New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood centers. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to hospitals serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine. Please visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter. Follow us on Twitter: @NYBloodCenter.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 93 million retail customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 192,000.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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