FIRE COMMISSIONER SALVATORE J. CASSANO AND NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER HONOR FDNY BONE MARROW DONORS

FDNY Firefighter Who Donated Bone Marrow Will Meet Recipient and Her Family for the First Time

Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano; Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., President and CEO of New York Blood Center (NYBC); and Howard P. Milstein, Chairman of NYBC's Board of Trustees; will add the names of nine FDNY bone marrow donors to the "Honor Roll of Life" at the ninth annual induction ceremony, to be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 27th at FDNY Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY.

During the ceremony, Firefighter Douglas Chiz, 29, of Engine 136 in Queens will meet the recipient of his life-saving bone marrow donations, Angela Rugh, 23, from Jeanette, Pennsylvania. At 16, Angela was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and was told she would need a bone marrow transplant to survive. Angela received transplants from Firefighter Chiz in 2008 and 2011.

Members of the FDNY make up New York Blood Center's single largest group of bone marrow and stem cell donors. To date a total of 149 firefighters have given these gifts to patients - in some cases more than once - accounting for more than 10 percent of all donors from New York Blood Center.

For a list of NYBC blood drives and donor center locations in NY and NJ, please visit www.nybloodcenter.org and click on the "Locate a Blood Drive" link or call 1-800-933-2566.

Who:	Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano; Chief of Department Edward S. Kilduff; NYBC President and CEO Dr. Christopher Hillyer; Chairman of NYBC's Board of Trustees, Howard Milstein; Director of FDNY Bureau of Health Services, Mary T. McLaughlin; FDNY firefighter donors and other FDNY officials.
Where:	FDNY Headquarters Auditorium, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY.
When:	Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - 11:00 a.m.

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Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon & Frank Dwyer, (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny