Five Points of Life Ride

Press Release Oct 24, 2008 08:00 ET Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Sponsors Five Points of Life Ride in Raritan - Five Points of Life Ride Raises National Awareness of Lifesaving Donations - RARITAN, N.J., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (OCD), a Johnson & Johnson company, today holds its biennial bicycle ride from its Raritan offices in support of the 2008 national Five Points of Life Ride. Started in 1997, The Five Points of Life Ride promotes donations of the five points of life: blood, cord blood, apheresis (donation of platelets), bone marrow, and organs and tissue. More than 200 employees from OCD and other Johnson & Johnson companies will be cycling on a 20-mile route through neighboring communities to raise awareness for these critical needs. "OCD has been a proud supporter of The Five Points of Life Ride for 13 years," said Mark Straley, Worldwide Commercial President, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. "The Five Points of Life Ride reminds all of us at OCD about the critical role our products have in blood donor and plasma centers worldwide. We encourage our communities to join us by considering donations to the five points of life." Ellen Lake, who donates once a month at OCD's apheresis donor center, added, "I encourage everyone to consider donating as it allows ordinary people to do something extraordinary and potentially save a life. I've been donating for more than 10 years and it has turned into something really meaningful as I know my donation is connecting me with another person in need." About Five Points of Life Ride The 2008 national Five Points of Life Ride, organized by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, will cover more than 2,000 miles in a 30-day period, between October 1 and October 29, 2008. This year's ride began in Mobile, Alabama and will continue through six southeastern states with events in more than 30 cities. The Five Points of Life Ride consists of a small team of cyclists and support crew. Each member is selected for their personal connection to one or more of the five points. The route crosses the country, with stops in communities along the way at activities and events hosted by local donor organizations. The ride in Raritan is a satellite event that will not include the national riders. The goal of the ride is not to raise money -- it is expressly to encourage eligible individuals across the country to become involved and donate to the five points of life because:

  --  The need for blood is great -- on any given day, an average of 39,000
      units of red blood cells are needed. Blood transfusions often are
      needed for trauma victims -- due to accidents and burns -- heart
      surgery, organ transplants, and patients receiving treatment for
      leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and
      thalassemia (a genetic blood disease). (SOURCE: www.AABB.org)

  --  Every year, more than 10,000 Americans get life-threatening diseases
      that can only be cured with a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated
      donor. The patients do not have a family donor and transplant is their
      only hope for a cure. (SOURCE: www.marrow.org)

  --  Each day, about 77 people receive organ transplants. However, 19
      people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place
      because of the shortage of donated organs. (SOURCE:
      www.OrganDonor.gov)

For more information about the need for Five Points of Life donations and how to donate, visit www.fivepointsoflife.org. About Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, delivers the high quality in-vitro diagnostic products that give healthcare professionals around the world the knowledge they need to make better treatment decisions sooner. The company serves the global transfusion medicine community with donor screening and blood typing products to ensure every patient receives blood that's safe, the right type, and the right unit. Ortho Clinical Diagnostics also brings sophisticated information management, testing technologies, automation and interpretation tools to clinical laboratories worldwide to help them run more efficiently and improve patient care. For more information, visit www.orthoclinical.com. Source: Ortho Clinical Diagnostics CONTACT: Stephanie Fagan for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, +1-908-704-3691, Cell, +1-201-572-9581 Web Site: http://www.aabb.org/ http://www.fivepointsoflife.org/ http://www.marrow.org/ http://www.organdonor.gov/ http://www.orthoclinical.com/ Take care, Lynn Smythe AKA the Bike Diva