Bloodworks Northwest Announces New Portland Office During Blood Drive at 2015 Heart and Stroke Walk

PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwired - May 16, 2015) - Bloodworks Northwest, a nonprofit blood collection and distribution organization based in Washington state, has established a new Portland office as it continues to provide increasing amounts of blood to Oregon hospitals.

The organization introduced itself to the Oregon and Southwest Washington community during a blood drive at the American Heart Association's 2015 Heart and Stroke Walk at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, May 16.

It might surprise many to learn that Bloodworks, though seemingly new to Portland, already provides much of the donated blood for patients at Portland area hospitals.

Bloodworks began as a community blood bank in Seattle in 1944 and has since expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest. Today, Bloodworks supplies more than half of all lifesaving blood components used by patients and hospitals in Portland and the surrounding metro region. As a community-based nonprofit organization, Bloodworks collects blood only in areas where it already supports local patients and hospitals.

Andrea Chiller, the organization's new regional director for Portland Metro Area Donor Services, said the Heart and Stroke Walk was a natural fit for a formal introduction to Portland, because Bloodworks isn't just a blood bank. In addition to collecting and distributing blood, Bloodworks provides treatment and support to people with a variety of blood disorders and conducts research on a range of blood conditions, including thrombosis, a leading cause of heart attack.

"With 70 scientists on staff, we're one of the only blood centers in the United States performing leading-edge research on blood biology, transfusion, thrombosis and blood disorders," Chiller said. "We truly are an organization involved in all things blood."

Bloodworks also fielded a team for the Heart Walk with 24 staff members, volunteers, friends and family members participating and raising money for the cause.

To learn more about Bloodworks Northwest, please visit BloodworksNW.org.