10 Years Later, AICO CEO Honored for Generosity That Has Saved Countless Lives

Furniture World News Desk on 6/24/2019

On Wednesday, June 19, AICO CEO and founder Michael Amini celebrated the 10th anniversary of a three-story, 60,000-square-foot transfusion medicine center at City of Hope that he helped make possible: The Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center.

Since it opened a decade ago, The Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center has enabled nearly 170,000 donors to give blood products, including more than 92,500 platelet units and over 108,100 blood units. Without Amini’s visionary gift, City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, would have had to spend more than $65 million to purchase those blood products from outside sources. Amini’s generosity enabled City of Hope to pass this cost-savings on to patients.

The new facility allowed City of Hope to expand transfusion services for transplant, oncology and surgery patients, to participate in leading-edge cellular therapy research, and to meet new and future government-mandated processing requirements for blood and stem cells. This year, City of Hope reached 15,000 bone marrow transplants, and it is estimated that 850 patients will undergo a bone marrow or stem cell transplant at City of Hope in 2019. These large numbers would not have been conceivable without Amini’s commitment and The Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center.

Amini has been part of City of Hope’s International Home Furnishing Industry since 2003.

“Michael is a remarkable philanthropic leader of the International Home Furnishings Industry,” said Kristin Bertell, chief philanthropy officer at City of Hope. “His partnership has transformed the shape of our campus, the speed of our research and treatment, and the impact of our partnerships with the industry. He is at the very core of our institution’s growth, and we are honored to join with him in our shared quest to bring new life to patients and families.”

Michael Amini made a transformational, naming gift in 2006 that resulted in the Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center, a state-of-the-art facility that centralizes and elevates City of Hope’s blood donation and cell processing functions. Home Depot sponsored the installation of solar panels that enabled City of Hope to open its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building. Additional substantial gifts were made by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Lillian and Bob Zacky.