Beginning January 8, we expanded our collections to include plasma products drawn on the ALYX machine. The ALYX machine is an apheresis machine that separates and collects various blood components and returns what we aren’t using to the donor —...
Think about the last time you gave blood. Did you notice all the complicated-looking machines throughout donor center? We’re sure most of you have, so we thought we’d share a bit about what each of them do (including some of...
Your Rh status (positive or negative) is determined by an antigen found on your red blood cells (RBCs). Being Rh-positive or Rh-negative means that either you have the Rhesus D antigen on your RBCs (positive) or you don’t (negative). Rh...
In January, a tough time of year for blood collections, we shared a blog, Behind the Critical Need for Blood Products at Stanford Blood Center, offering some insight into what it means for a blood center to be in critical...
This Thursday, June 14, blood centers and health organizations around the globe will celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). As a day of appreciation for blood donors, WBDD is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the impact that donors have...
As a Stanford Blood Center donor, each time you donate, you could potentially save a life… it could be someone with cancer, a trauma victim, or even someone with a rare bleeding disorder. March is National Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month,...
You may have seen messaging earlier this month letting you know that Stanford Blood Center (SBC) was in critical need of O-negative blood products and platelets. If you are an O- blood donor or a platelet donor, you may have...
Most of you probably know that when you donate blood products, they test for your blood type (A-positive, O-negative, etc.). But you might not know that when you donate platelets, they test for an additional type — your HLA type....
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the first blood bank, created by Oswald Hope Robertson – a development that has saved countless lives. While transfusions had previously been performed by direct artery-to-view or indirect syringe techniques, Robertson was able to...