Senator Collins Attends Red Cross Facility Groundbreaking

Portland, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins attended the groundbreaking for renovations of the American Red Cross’s Northern New England biomedical facility in Portland, Maine. The facility is the most productive donor center in the State of Maine, with 85 percent of all blood and blood products collected in Maine passing through the facility. The total donations collected in Maine each year are enough to save or extend 180,000 lives.

“Every two seconds, when someone in the U.S. needs blood, the Red Cross is there to meet that critical need,” said Senator Collins. “It was an honor to visit the dedicated staff at Red Cross today, and I will continue to support efforts to improve and expand their vital, lifesaving work.”

This groundbreaking begins the first of a three-phase, $3.8 million project to renovate the building, expand its capacity, and consolidate under one roof, all five of the organizations operations: collecting and distributing blood donations, providing disaster relief, training volunteers, supporting members of the armed services and their families, and organizing international relief efforts.

The $1.4 million first phase is primarily funded through $871,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending secured by Senator Collins in the 2022 omnibus spending package. Federal support will fund a new generator to safeguard life-saving blood products, a staging area for mobile, community-based blood drives, and parking lot repairs to maintain the integrity of their specialized transport fleet.

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