Coachella Valley Real Estate Blog

A new LifeStream blood donor center opened in La Quinta on September 10^th.  Formerly known as the Blood Bank of Riverside, the name was recently changed to LifeStream.  The 8,000-square-foot facility, at 79-215 Corporate Centre Drive, is equipped with an Internet café featuring Starbucks coffee, snacks and other beverages, as well as "e-chairs" that have Internet access so donors can surf the Web or watch movies as blood is being collected.

LifeStream's desert facility employs a staff of 25 medical professionals, including nurses, donor specialists, lab technicians and a mobile operations team.  LifeStream's six donor centers, including the new $4 million La Quinta center, are the only local facilities licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The centers are also the only ones in the two-county region to operate blood-typing laboratories accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks, officials said.

In addition to its centers, LifeStream operates seven mobile blood donation centers within the two counties and receives more than 500 donations daily.  It also provides more than 10,000 blood products - from platelets to plasma - annually for patient transfusions in the Coachella Valley, officials said.

"I can't tell you how many people are still alive because of the blood and transfusions (from LifeStream). But what I can tell you is nobody has died because LifeStream wasn't able to give us the blood that we needed," said Dr. Robert J. Cunnah, chief medical officer at Desert Regional Medical Center, which has an exclusive partnership with LifeStream for blood products. "That's an outstanding record."

The LifeStream name captures the spirit of the organization's mission to save lives by connecting donors to patients and promoting wellness.  Let's support our local La Quinta blood bank!  To volunteer, contact 909-885-6503 Ext. 396.