October 23, 2001
Ty Law and New England Patriots team up with Dana-Farber to promote blood platelet donation
Ty's team takes the field to increase public awareness about the need for platelets
Ron Burton, former Patriots player and Dana-Farber patient, Robert Kraft, Patriots owner and Dana-Farber trustee, Ty Law, Patriots starting cornerback, and Ken Anderson, M.D.
New England Patriots starting cornerback Ty Law and the New England Patriots announced today that they are teaming up with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to increase public awareness about the need for blood platelet donation.
As captain of Ty's Team, the new partnership, Law will encourage the public to donate platelets through a series of television and radio announcements and public appearances. The Patriots will also provide high visibility for Ty's Team at Foxboro Stadium through public service advertising in Patriots publications and on the team's Web site, http://www.patriots.com.
"It's a privilege to be able to play an important role in encouraging people to donate blood platelets," says Law. "I hope our fans and others learn that by giving a little of themselves, they can save lives."
Blood platelets, the life-saving clotting agents in blood, are vital to patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, recipients of organ transplants, and those who suffer loss of blood during surgery. The need for donated platelets is constant and growing, as platelets possess a shelf life of only five days.
Platelet donation, or apheresis, consists of the withdrawal of blood from the arm into a cell-separation machine, where a small number of the donor's platelets are collected. The remaining blood components are returned to the donor. A platelet donation visit takes approximately two hours total, including 90 minutes of actual donation time.
"Ty Law, the New England Patriots and the Kraft family are helping to make a real difference in the lives of our patients," says Edward J. Benz, Jr., M.D., president of Dana-Farber. "It takes a team effort to beat cancer, and Ty's Team will help many of our patients tackle their cancer."
"This is a wonderful new way for our family to expand our longtime association with Dana-Farber," says Robert Kraft, chairman and owner of the Patriots. "This pairing of the Patriots and Dana-Farber - two of our region's great institutions - will help address a vital need in our community."
Ron Burton, Robert Kraft and Ty Law talk with Dave Smith, a donor who has given platelets more than 300 times.
Kraft, a trustee of Dana-Farber, and his family are longtime supporters of patients care services and research at Dana-Farber. In 1983, the Krafts endowed the Robert K. Kraft Family Blood Donor Center, and members of the Kraft family regularly donate platelets at the center.
"Many cancer therapy advances, curative therapy of leukemia for example, simply would not have been possible without platelet transfusion support for the patients, since cancer therapies often lower their own platelet counts and increase the risk of bleeding," says Kenneth Anderson, M.D., director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber. "The Kraft Family Blood Donor Center, which literally has been the lifeblood of our Institute for nearly 20 years, has helped countless children and adults with cancer. This new partnership with Ty Law and the Patriots will allow increased numbers of platelet donors to share the gift of life every day, assuring that even more of our patients will win their battle with cancer."
The Kraft Family Blood Donor Center is a part of the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine. Established in 2000 by Dana-Farber, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Children's Hospital, this program integrates the donor and patient care operations, as well as teaching and research activities, at the three institutions.
For more information on how to donate blood platelets at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber, go to the Center's Web site, http://www.dana-farber.org/how/donateblood/, or call (617) 632-3206.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (http://www.danafarber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), a designated comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. Dana-Farber has a long-standing alliance with Children's Hospital Boston, a joint service for children with cancer. In 1996, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the two founding members of the Partners HealthCare System - Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital - formed Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare (DF/PCC), a collaboration in adult cancer care.
