BLOOD MANAGEMENT AWARENESS WEEK, NOVEMBER 2-6, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) November 4, 2009 -- The Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) has announced that the week of November 2-6 has been designated as Blood Management Awareness Week by State of Wisconsin gubernatorial and City of Milwaukee mayoral proclamations.

Blood Management Awareness Week (BMAW) was developed by SABM members to raise national awareness among healthcare professionals and the general public about the importance of becoming more informed and educated in the management of their blood. Blood management is the appropriate provision and use of blood, its components and derivatives, and strategies to reduce or avoid the need for a blood transfusion.

Blood Management Awareness Week is recognized during the first week of November in dozens of hospitals across the United States and highlights the concerns of every person about having the best healthcare available, respect for individual preferences and the importance of continuing education for healthcare professionals who provide blood management care.

The Society for the Advancement of Blood Management is a multidisciplinary, multi-professional society comprised of international healthcare professionals, whose members are passionate about reducing medical costs, improving patient safety and conserving the reduced pool of available blood by promoting judicious use of allogeneic blood transfusions (Allogeneic blood is banked blood from anonymous donors). Allogeneic blood transfusions are associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality and longer hospital stays.

For more information about Blood Management Awareness Week, patient blood management, or to learn more about the research that provides the facts that support statements made in this press release, please contact Robert Kopchinski, Executive Director at rkopchinski@sabm.org or visit www.sabm.org.

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