A Letter From Hoxworth’s Director

A statement of mission beyond saving lives reaching out to improve life in our tumultuous world today

LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY:  José Cancelas, MD, PhD, Director, Hoxworth Blood Center

CINCINNATI, OH (June 8, 2020) – 

Dear Tri-State Community,

The mission of Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, is to help save lives and improve lives in our community.  This mission is not limited to providing blood products, it does and will continue to go much further.  This mission expands to providing respect, dignity, and care to all that we come in contact with; including patients, blood donors, visitors, and of course our dedicated team of employees.

Our world is in turmoil and our community is far from exempt. Over the past week, we have seen both peaceful and not so peaceful protests.  The wounds run deep and voices should be heard and change should be enacted.  The senseless death of George Floyd has shown that racism continues to exist and that it cannot continue to be ignored. 

As an organization, we realize that to enact change, we must first acknowledge that there is a problem.  Today we publicly acknowledge the existence of discrimination and racism and invite others to join us in pledging to take a stand and make a change. 

At the end of the day, it is not the life we live, but it is the lives that we help to save while living.  Keeping this mantra at the forefront of everything that we do,  we kneel in solidarity for the equal treatment of our brethren and support members of our Black community.  We will continue to work and strive to provide equality, dignity, and care to all members of our community and organization.