Cypress Industries hosted blood drive to support employee with MDS

Employees donate their time and blood to help co-worker

Austin, TX, August 14, 2007

Operating in a small business environment has its advantages; employees get to know each other very well and treat each other like family. So when one of those family members is in need of support, the employees at Cypress Industries instinctively rally.

Ken Hertzler, the Plastics Molding Manager, was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MDS, several months ago. MDS is a condition in his genes that dictates how the bone marrow makes blood. In his case, the bone marrow starts making defective blood cells which eventually overtakes the healthy cells in the blood. As the good cells are depleted, there are three key things that happen; the red blood cells can no longer efficiently carry oxygen around the body, the white blood cells can no longer fight off infection, and the platelets cannot help the blood clot. So a person with MDS faces the risk for a number of diseases. MDS is not a cancer, but can be classified more as a pre-leukemia.

Among the many treatments he has been taking, Hertzler has been receiving transfusions of red blood cells and whole platelets in order to help his body stay within normal red, white, and platelet levels. For him to have these blood products available to him when he needs them, requires donors to volunteer their time, and blood, to have them readily available. Unfortunately, like any product, there is supply and demand and many times the blood surplus is low. The employees at Cypress Industries wanted to lend a hand by hosting a blood drive to bring in as many units to help replenish the blood supply, so Hertzler, as well as other patients in need of blood products, can have it when they need it.

On August 14th, 2007, The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas brought their mobile bus to the parking lot of Cypress Industries in northwest Austin for the afternoon and in 4 hours went home with almost 20 units of blood. Through their Blood Assurance Program, each donation rewarded Hertzler with $10 that he earmarked to help with travel and lodging expenses for his trips to Houston for treatments.

Hertzler continues to take treatments for MDS in Austin and Houston and receives blood and platelets as his body needs them. It was a first time for many of the employees at Cypress Industries to donate blood, but everyone who donated was thankful to know it was supporting a good cause; our friend.

About Cypress Industries

Cypress Industries is a manufacturing and services company that accelerates time to profit for electronic, plastic and metal components and products. Since 2001, Cypress Industries has delivered unique solutions to our customers’ most challenging design, manufacturing, fulfillment and logistics problems while allowing them to focus on their core businesses. Atypical of most manufacturing companies, Cypress Industries applies creativity, extensive industry knowledge and a relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction to solving manufacturing problems without regard to size or complexity. Our ISO 9001-certified offshore and UL certified domestic facilities ensures manufacturing consistency and high-quality finished products. By offering lower tooling costs and shorter lead-times, Cypress Industries designs, engineers and fulfills high-quality electronics components, metals, plastics and finished products quicker and more cost-effectively than many other manufacturing companies. Cypress Industries’ headquarters is in Austin, Texas. More information about Cypress Industries can be found at www.cypressindustries.com.

CONTACT:

Cypress Industries
512.637-2547
[email protected]