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San Diego Blood Bank Celebrates Grand Opening of new, Chula Vista Terra Nova Donation Location in South San Diego
New permanent South Bay donation location opens in Terra Nova Plaza to supply blood to local hospitals, replacing previous temporary site
The city of Chula Vista now has its own permanent San Diego Blood Bank donation location! During the pandemic, the need for more locations was necessary amid mandated shutdowns and blood drive cancellations. First, San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) opened a temporary site inside the old Sears building on the West side of H street and within a few months moved to its second temporary donation site on East H St next to Marshalls inside the Terra Nova Plaza shopping center.
The temporary site enabled San Diego Blood Bank to continue collecting but the team is extremely excited to have a fully built-out donation location for local blood donors to call home. It has been more than a decade since SDBB operated out of a permanent location in South Bay, closing the National City location in 1994.
San Diego Blood Bank is proud to celebrate the grand opening of the Chula Vista Terra Nova donation location, which opened its doors officially on May 31, 2022. Blood donors are welcome Tuesday through Saturday, and you will find us near the clock tower between D’Lish Gourmet Pasta and Pizza and the Locksmith.
Through philanthropy and partnership with generous financial supporters, the location is equipped with vital equipment and supplies like Trima systems for apheresis donations, HemoFlows, blood bags and more. Thank you to the San Diego Woman's Club for your investment in life and for generously funding blood donation chairs that quite literally support blood donors during every donation—helping to save thousands of lives each year.
Since 2020, this is the third new, permanent San Diego Blood Bank location to open including the Liberty Station Donor Center in Point Loma and the Irvine Business District Location operating as Southern California Blood Bank in Orange County.
Grand Opening and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for San Diego Blood Bank Chula Vista Terra Nova
Photo: (L-R) Mercedes Eldridge, Team Survivor & Blood Recipient, joins San Diego Blood Bank's Claudine Van Gonka, SDBB Director of Community Relations and Media, Doug Morton, Chief Executive Officer, Nikhil Nayak, Chief Business Officer, Tracey Jaymalin, Chula Vista Terra Nova Manager, Sherry Serio, Vice President of Development, and SDBB Board Members, Janet Roemer, JC Kyrillos, Kenneth Cohen, and Gabe Guitierrez to cut the red ribbon.
On June 8, 2022, together with local blood recipients, financial supporters, blood donors, community members, and San Diego Blood Bank staff, we celebrated the grand opening of Chula Vista Terra Nova with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
CEO Doug Morton kicked off the ceremony with excitement. At the same time, he reflected on the blood bank's journey to this day and how, through research and expanding our blood collection programs, the patients in Southern California benefit. Guests enjoyed words of gratitude from SDBB Vice President of Development Sherry Serio and Chula Vista Manager Tracey Jaymalin, both instrumental in successfully launching this permanent location.
Team Survivor Mercedes thanked the blood bank and blood donors for supporting her through leukemia treatment and a bone marrow transplant—giving her a future. The San Diego Woman's Club presented a $25,000 gift to fund phlebotomy chairs for this new location. For the past 19 years, SDWC has generously donated over $135,000 to support SDBB’s blood collection program with equipment and supplies.
Photo: (L-R) San Diego Woman's Club Board of Directors Diane Hazard and Judy Mantle present a check to SDBB Vice President of Development, Sherry Serio, SDBB CEO Doug Morton, and SDBB Development Manager, Cherryl Castro-Lector at the Grand Opening and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for San Diego Blood Bank Chula Vista Terra Nova Donation Location
Guest speaker Sharp Chula Vista CEO Dr. Pablo Velez graciously spoke about our longtime partnership and gave a passionate call to action to blood donors to give life. Thank you to San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas for presenting our location with a special accommodation.
San Diego Blood Bank | Chula Vista Terra Nova Donation Location
386 East H Street, Suite 210, Chula Vista, CA 91910
By the Locksmith and D'Lish Gourmet Pizza & Pasta near the Clocktower
Location Hours of Operation:
Tuesday – Thursday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday & Saturday: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday – Monday: Closed
Donate Blood at Chula Vista
To donate blood, you must be 17 years old, weigh a minimum of 114 pounds, and be in general good health. Learn more about donor eligibility requirements and read FAQs.
To learn about how philanthropy fuels San Diego Blood Bank's mission through SDBB Foundation, visit sandiegobloodbank.org/give.
San Diego Blood Bank is a nonprofit blood bank also operating as Southern California Blood Bank serving Southern California hospitals with more than 150,000 units of blood each year.
Published 6/7/2022 / Updated 6/10/2022
