Plasma donation center opens in January
1:12 PM
By John Quinlanjquinlan@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Monday, November 10, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- A new plasma donation center, expected to eventually employ 60 people, will open Jan. 26, 2009 in Sioux City, said Carla Bentley of Onawa, Iowa, the local center manager for BioLife Plasma Services. An open house for the Sioux City center will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Feb. 11. Ribbon cutting will be held that day at 11 a.m.
Construction on the 15,000-square-foot center at 5550 Sergeant Road, located behind the Target store in Sunnybrook Plaza, is expected to be completed by late December, Bentley said.
The BioLife center will be one of more than 60 centers in the U.S. and Europe that collect plasma used to create life-saving and sustaining therapies. A subsidiary of Baxter Healthcare Corporation, BioLife centers collect plasma, which is the pale liquid yellow portion of the blood that can be easily be replaced by the body. Donors are compensated for their time and, on average, can earn about $240 a month through their donations, said Tonya Fowler, Iowa regional marketing representative for BioLife Plasma Services.
New centers are being build in Sioux City and Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Dr, Aroon Kalakunja, an internist at St, Luke's Regional Medical Center, is the BioLife medical director at the Sioux City center. The assistant manager is Tom Henry.
"The actual plasma donation process is exciting," Bentley said. "We're glad to bring it to Sioux City because not only are we able to save lifes every day with the plasma that we collect, but wer'e going to be adding approximately 60 new jobs to the economy of Sioux City, which we're v ery excited about on the heels of some bad economic news recently in Siouxland. And we do compensate donors for their time, so there will be a little bit of economic stimulus there as well."
Construction on the 15,000-square-foot center at 5550 Sergeant Road, located behind the Target store in Sunnybrook Plaza, is expected to be completed by late December, Bentley said.
The BioLife center will be one of more than 60 centers in the U.S. and Europe that collect plasma used to create life-saving and sustaining therapies. A subsidiary of Baxter Healthcare Corporation, BioLife centers collect plasma, which is the pale liquid yellow portion of the blood that can be easily be replaced by the body. Donors are compensated for their time and, on average, can earn about $240 a month through their donations, said Tonya Fowler, Iowa regional marketing representative for BioLife Plasma Services.
New centers are being build in Sioux City and Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Dr, Aroon Kalakunja, an internist at St, Luke's Regional Medical Center, is the BioLife medical director at the Sioux City center. The assistant manager is Tom Henry.
"The actual plasma donation process is exciting," Bentley said. "We're glad to bring it to Sioux City because not only are we able to save lifes every day with the plasma that we collect, but wer'e going to be adding approximately 60 new jobs to the economy of Sioux City, which we're v ery excited about on the heels of some bad economic news recently in Siouxland. And we do compensate donors for their time, so there will be a little bit of economic stimulus there as well."
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 1 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
AmyMinoy wrote on Dec 4, 2008 11:52 PM: