Our new Puyallup Donor Center is now open to serve local donors and patients! The Puyallup Donor Center is open five days a week (Tuesday – Saturday) at 13613 Meridian E., Suite 120 near Sonic in South Hill.
We celebrated at a Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting celebration on October 3. Donors, staff, blood drive coordinators, the Puyallup Chamber of Commerce, and other community partners enjoyed Top Pot donuts and coffee and toured the center.
What the opening of this new donor center represents here in Puyallup is the opportunity for members of the community to receive the gift of giving The Gift of Life,” said Bloodworks CEO Curt Bailey. “It’s such a delight to be part of that very special thing, both for patients but also for our blood donors.
In February, 2024, after nearly 80 years of lifesaving service to the community, Cascade Regional Blood Services (CRBS) decided to close its doors. For years, CRBS had collected blood in Pierce, Thurston, and Kitsap counties and supplied the blood required for patients of the fast-growing MultiCare Health System in the Puget Sound region.
It would be impossible to thank all that made this possible, but we recognize the need to be more active in the Pierce County region when Cascade Regional Blood Services could no longer operate.
Bloodworks is now the primary supplier of blood components and apheresis services to the six hospitals in Puget Sound operated by MultiCare: Tacoma General Hospital (including Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital inside Tacoma General), Allenmore Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, Auburn Hospital, Covington Hospital, and Capital Medical Center.
And, the community, our hospital partners, as well as, of course, all of my Bloodworks colleagues and our many generous financial supporters, stood up and rushed to fill this gap,” Curt continued. “And we have had innumerable blood drives in the Pierce County area. And, of course, we are now, able to operate the Puyallup Blood Works donor center, full time.
Jayna’s Story
Jayna Glenn
Milton resident Sunshine Glenn shared her daughter Jayna’s story with the crowd.
The day that Jayna was born was also the first day that I saw her have a seizure.
In her first few weeks of life, Jayna was having more than 50 seizures a day, sometimes hundreds. A brain scan showed that Jayna’s seizures were caused by hemimegalencephaly, a rare brain disorder where one half of the brain is abnormally large and malformed. If doctors could not control the seizures, Jayna would be lucky to live past two years old.
Jayna would need a hemispherectomy, which is, in Sunshine’s words, “a barbaric-sounding surgery where one half of the brain is removed or disconnected to control the spread of seizures.”
On June 8th, at 28 days old, Jayna’s surgeon spent eight hours resetting her brain. She weighed less than 10 pounds. She lost a lot of blood in order to survive the surgery. She needed red blood cells and platelets. She also received an additional transfusion in two days after the brain surgery. Without donated blood, Jayna would not have the full, productive life she has today.
Jayna is now 18 and graduated from high school in June. She plays the drums, watches cooking shows, and played soccer and basketball with the Special Olympics. She hopes to one day work with preschoolers.
And that could not have happened without the gift of life that donors offer,” said Sunshine. “Thank you for my daughter’s life.
Book your appointment at the Puyallup Donor Center now. We can’t wait to welcome you.
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