Dozens of elected officials, patients, City of Hope leaders and executives from some of the nation’s top home furnishings companies officially dedicated the new Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center on April 6.
 Michael Amini beams about the Amini Center’s environmentally friendly solar panels. (Photo by Thomas Brown) |
The three-story, 60,000-square-foot building houses all components of the Division of Transfusion Medicine, consolidating City of Hope’s blood collection and processing programs and providing a modern, comfortable environment for patients, blood donors and staff.
City of Hope transfuses about 2,500 units of blood per month, and demand grows yearly. The center doubles the previous number of treatment beds and accommodates twice the number of blood donors.
The building was established through a generous $6 million gift from Michael Amini, a longstanding member of City of Hope’s National Home Furnishings Industry group and the founder and chief executive officer of Amini Innovations Corporation.
The dedication ceremony featured remarks by Amini, as well as Michael A. Friedman, M.D., City of Hope’s president and chief executive officer. Speakers also included Terry Peets, chair of City of Hope’s board of directors, Steven Hilton, president and chief executive officer of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Kurt Kurisu, a longtime platelet donor at City of Hope.
A gift from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation helped jump-start the building project. Other contributions came from The Home Depot Foundation, which granted $500,000 for the building’s solar panels and was represented by Joe McFarland, president of The Home Depot Western Division, as well as longtime volunteers Lillian and Bob Zacky, who donated $250,000. Volunteers Bea and Ed Wolfe, members of the Partners for Hope Chapter, also provided support.