Super games for Superheroes

We always say that our blood donors are Everyday Heroes! There may not be any superhero style games (yet) related to blood donation but there are some great games out there to help you learn more about blood typing and medical knowledge in general. If you need a break try playing a few today!

Match the correct blood with patients in order to keep them alive in this fun game from Nobelprize.org.

Blood is often used during open heart surgery. Want to try your hand at being a surgeon? Be careful to cut in a straight line and keep an eye on the patients oxygen/blood levels in this fun Open Heart Surgery game.

Remember playing the game Operation when you were younger? Well now you can play this interactive new version online. Have fun catching those butterflies in the patient’s stomach!

For those of us who always wondered about going to medical school now you can play along and attend online in this fun virtual medical school game. Good luck avoiding Dr. Grey and diagnosing patients!

The name might be deceiving, but this Whack A Bone game is a great way to learn the anatomy of your body and find out what’s holding your body together!

Still not satisfied? Find more medical games here. Have fun and good luck!

It’s Simply Not True!

by Angela Woon, Communications Specialist and ghost myth buster

For years, we’ve heard rumors that BCP’s headquarters, the Irwin Center, San Francisco, is built over the Masonic cemetery (which is how Masonic Avenue got its name).

According to hearsay, a couple of donors have apparently shied away just because of our spooky locale. But we’re here to quash those rumors because it’s simply not true!

The Masonic Cemetery was actually located between Turk, Fulton, Parker and Masonic Streets, on what is now part of the University of San Francisco.  The Cemetery has since moved to the Woodland Memorial Park in San Mateo County.

What we do know, is that the Irwin Center location was previously the site of the not-as spooky Flying A gas station! (see pic above)

BCP moved to its current location on Masonic and Turk Street in April 1955, when we needed a bigger facility to accommodate our expanding operations. BCP, then-named the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank, initially operated out of the basement of a San Francisco mansion owned by the San Francisco Medical Society. Known as the Irwin Mansion, it was located on the northeast corner of Washington and Laguna streets, San Francisco.

So now that the truth has been revealed, we hope to see you donating blood on this historic site soon (you’d be a part of history!)! And there’s another thing we’re sure is no rumor…we always need donors to help save lives!
Got some stories or old photos to share with us? Let us know!