Blood Services
As the most visible division of Biomedical
Services, Blood Services is touching more lives than ever before. The use of
current medical technologies allows us to provide the nation with a variety of
blood products that are as safe as possible. And today, we continue setting new
standards for safety and quality.
Tissue Services
For more than twenty
years, the American Red Cross provided allograft tissue for transplant through
its Tissue Services Program. We cared for thousands of donor families who gave
the gift of tissue donation and helped more than 1 million transplant recipients
in need of this life saving or life-enhancing gift of tissue.
At the end of January, 2005, the American Red Cross made the difficult
decision to end its Tissue Services program in order to focus on its primary
missions of Disaster Relief and Blood Services. The tissue program may have
ended, but the need to consider giving the gift of organ and tissue donation did
not. The American Red Cross encourages everyone to learn more about this
end-of-life gift that can save of the lives of as many as 8 people, and enhance
the lives of more than 50 people.
Investing in the Future
Because the Red
Cross never stops inventing new ways to care, the organization is looking far
into the 21st century at the future of blood services.
In February 1999, the Red Cross completed its "Transformation," a $287
million program that:
- re-engineered Red Cross Blood Services' processing, testing and distribution
system;
- established a new management structure; and
- positioned the Red Cross as a cutting-edge organization prepared to enter
the 21st century.
As a result, Red Cross Biomedical Services now has:
- A standardized computer system that efficiently maintains our blood donor
database;
- a network of eight, state-of-the-art National Testing Laboratories (NTLs)
that test about 6 million units of blood collected by the Red Cross's 36 blood
regions;
- the Charles Drew Biomedical Institute, which allows for the Red Cross to
provide training and other educational resources to Red Cross Blood Services'
personnel;
- a highly qualified Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs Department, which
helps to ensure compliance with FDA regulations in every Red Cross Blood
Services region; and,
- a centrally managed blood inventory system to ensure the consistent
availability of blood and blood components in every Red Cross Blood Services
region throughout the country.
Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)
On March 1,
1999, the American Red Cross became the first U.S. blood banking organization to
implement a Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) study. This process is different from
traditional testing because it looks for the genetic material of HIV and
hepatitis C (HCV), rather than the body's response to the disease.
The NAT tests for HIV and HCV have been licensed by the FDA. These tests are
able to detect the genetic material of a transfusion-transmitted virus like HIV
without waiting for the body to form antibodies- potentially offering an
important time advantage over current techniques.
Leukoreduction
A person's own leukocytes
(white blood cells) help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses
and abnormal cells, to avoid sickness or disease. But when transfused to another
person, these same leukocytes do not benefit the recipient. In fact, these
foreign leukocytes in transfused red blood cells and platelets are often not
well tolerated and have been associated with some types of transfusion
complications.
The Red Cross is moving toward system-wide universal prestorage leukocyte
reduction to improve patient care.
Research and Development
Our national
research program makes significant contributions to biomedical science, blood
safety, plasma-derived therapeutics and transfusion technology.
The Red Cross operates one of the world's premier blood research facilities,
the Jerome H. Holland Laboratory, based in Rockville, Md., where Red Cross
researchers are engaged in cutting-edge research to develop the next generation
of blood products and services. Each year, the Red Cross invests more than $25
million in research activities at the Holland Laboratory and in the field. This
commitment to research allows the Red Cross to oversee dozens of scientific
research projects seeking to improve the safety, purity and efficacy of
blood.
