By Craig Anderson

MIDDLETOWN — Bring the service to the donors instead of vice versa.

That’s the Blood Bank of Delmarva’s plan for increasing collections, and it includes a new location at 246 Dove Run.

Instead of traveling 30 minutes or so north to Newark or south to Dover, Middletown-area residents can now save miles and time, along with saving lives through blood donation.

And the effort appears promising, as the center booked about 45 appointments on its opening day Monday.

Among the donors was Rebecca Maiorano, 20, of Middletown, who lives about 10 minutes from the site. While she had previously given blood at mobile stops and in Newark, her convenience in visiting the location in the Dove Run Shopping Center was evident.

“It’s super nice to have this, and it’s literally in the middle of town,” the type O donor said. “I know they’ll get so many donors here because people here are stuck in between Dover and Newark, so having one (here makes sense).”

Blood Bank of Delmarva executive director Steve Corse concurred. “We’ve done a lot of research on the area,” he said. “It’s a growing area, it’s a booming area, and there’s a lot of opportunity here for a lot of folks to come in and donate.

“So, we want to bring the experience to where the people are, and this is a great location for us and our donors.”

He and his staff are eager to serve visitors to the new facility, he said.

In the past, “we’ve done a number of mobile blood drives in the area, and they’ve always been very strong drives, so we know the opportunity is there,” Mr. Corse added.

The center is open every Monday, Thursday and Friday, as well as every other weekend.

For information, visit delmarvablood.org or the agency’s Facebook page, or call 888-825-6638.