SALISBURY LIONS CLUB TO BE HONORED FOR FOUNDING BLOOD BANK 50 YEARS AGO
Recognition ceremony to be held at the Salisbury Donor Center on June 8 at 11am
Salisbury, MD - Blood Bank of Delmarva will honor the Salisbury Lions Club for their pivotal role in founding Blood Bank of the Eastern Shore (now part of Blood Bank of Delmarva) a half century ago. The "50th Anniversary" recognition ceremony, which will include the placement of a bronze marker to commemorate the Blood Bank's first president, Dr. I.M. Moulthop (pictured above on right with William E. Oliphant who later served as president), will be held on Wednesday, June 8 at 11am at the Blood Bank's Salisbury Donor Center (1309 Mt. Hermon Road, Salisbury, MD).
"We want to congratulate those involved in the creation of the Blood Bank of the Eastern Shore," said Roy Roper, President and CEO of Blood Bank of Delmarva. "Because of Dr. Moulthrop's vision and the forward-thinking support of the Salisbury Lions Club, a plan among a handful of people has evolved into a highly-successful organization that has stabilized the blood supply on the Eastern Shore and saved countless lives."
In May of 1961, Blood Bank of the Eastern Shore (BBES) was established due in large part to the efforts of the Salisbury Lions Club to ensure a more stable blood supply. BBES began as an organization that recruited members in Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester Counties to give blood at local hospitals.
As president of the Salisbury Lions Club, Dr. Moulthrop became the first president of BBES and served in that role for six years. Throughout Dr. Moulthrop's leadership, the organization had expanded to cover eight of the nine Eastern Shore counties and grew from 3,244 members to 17,253 members.
As documented in a WBOC-TV and WBOC-Radio broadcast on March 24 and 25, 1966, it was said that "much praise for the Blood Bank's success must be attributed to Dr. I.M. Moulthrop. He has led it from a mere idea to the indispensable great organization it is today."
"Over the next 20 years, BBES continued to expand operations and, ultimately, merged with Blood Bank of Delaware on January 23, 1991. In 2004, Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore changed its name to Blood Bank of Delmarva to better reflect the service area. The organization now supplies blood to 16 hospitals for about 20,000 patients a year.
