United Blood Services
Encyclopedia
United Blood Services is a non-profit organization that gathers blood through donations and provides whole blood
and blood products to 18 western states in the US. More than 25 million people in communities throughout these states depend on United Blood Services' generous volunteer blood donors
and staff for blood and blood products.
by Opal Davis and Kitty Baldwin. Today, the national headquarters is Blood Systems, located in Scottsdale, Arizona
. Blood Systems is a founding member of the AABB
. and was a driving force in the creation of the America's Blood Centers
. Both organizations play a major role in communicating advances in transfusion medicine
nationwide.
Whole blood
Whole blood is a term used in transfusion medicine for human blood from a standard blood donation. The blood is typically combined with an anticoagulant during the collection process, but is generally otherwise unprocessed...
and blood products to 18 western states in the US. More than 25 million people in communities throughout these states depend on United Blood Services' generous volunteer blood donors
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
and staff for blood and blood products.
Organizational History
United Blood Services was founded in 1943 as the Salt River Valley Blood Bank in Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
by Opal Davis and Kitty Baldwin. Today, the national headquarters is Blood Systems, located in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
. Blood Systems is a founding member of the AABB
AABB
The AABB is a United States-based professional body and standards organization that was founded in 1947 as the American Association of Blood Banks. The organization is now international with members in 80 countries and has taken on a broader scope to include all of transfusion medicine as well as...
. and was a driving force in the creation of the America's Blood Centers
America's Blood Centers
America’s Blood Centers is North America’s largest network of non-profit blood centers. Made up of 600 donor centers in 45 states and Quebec, America’s Blood Centers’ members collect more than 8 million units of whole blood, nearly half of the U.S. and Quebec, Canada volunteer donor blood supply...
. Both organizations play a major role in communicating advances in transfusion medicine
Transfusion medicine
Transfusion medicine is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the transfusion of blood and blood components. The blood bank is the section of the clinical laboratory where medical technologists process and distribute blood products under the supervision of a medical director, often...
nationwide.