AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Coffee Memorial Blood Center has been saving lives for more than 60 years and to celebrate the Amarillo City Commission declared today Coffee Memorial Blood Center Day.  Coffee Memorial has grown since it first opened on December 23, 1949 to meet the needs of 30 counties, including 5 states, rural areas, and people traveling through. 

Each year, the blood center draws and processes more than 30,000 units of whole blood, along with platelets, plasma, and stem cells. The use and blood is never ending and by show-casing the work the center does the city hopes it will encourage people to give the gift of life.

"Coffee Memorial has been here for 60 years, meeting the needs of people in this city in some of their most dire circumstances. You know, imagine with me for a minute if we didn't have coffee memorial. In the event of a mass causality incident, we need to know we can get the blood products in a timely fashion without having to send out other parts around the state," said Brian Eades, Amarillo City Commissioner. Coffee Memorial is the sole provider for 31 health care units in our region, that's almost 500,000 lives in the area it serves.

The center also presented the 2011 Honorary Ambassador family to represent Coffee Memorial Blood Drive.