Manufacturer to host blood drive

Crystal Window & Door Systems will take part in New York Blood Center's campaign &#8220Precise Match,” targeting underrepresented populations, such as Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans, to increase their participation.
Although blood types are the most important factor for emergency situations, in long-term transfusion treatments, it is best to match the recipient with a blood donation from a donor with the same ethnic and racial background who has the same inherited antigens. This helps to reduce the chance that the recipient will build up antibodies to the blood and reject the transfusion or have a bad reaction.
One of the top manufacturers of replacement and new construction vinyl and aluminum window and door products in North America, Crystal will provide its facility, located at 31-10 Whitestone Expressway in Flushing, as host to the blood drive on Monday, October 23 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Several staff members fluent in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) will act as interpreters for donors requiring language assistance. Crystal encourages all who are able to come out and give blood.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall reached out to leading minority businesses in the community to support the ‘Precise Match' campaign. Thomas Chen, President and Owner of Crystal Window & Door Systems, was eager to assist.
&#8220Crystal got involved with the blood drive for the ‘Precise Match' campaign because we believe it is vital that the Asian American community be encouraged to donate blood,” Chen said. &#8220We’re even providing interpreters because we want people to feel comfortable with the process as well as feel good about contributing. We are pleased to be able to support this effort.”
Blood donors must be between ages 16-76 (16 with written parental permission; 76+ with a doctor's note), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in generally good health. All donors receive free mini-medical exams on site and information about their temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin level. All donors must bring a valid ID and know their social security number.
For more information about blood donation, call New York Blood Center at 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566) or visit www.nybloodcenter.org.