Getting to Know You
By Deanna Bolio, Communications Specialist, Stanford Blood Center
Stanford Blood Center experienced a lot of change at the management level in 2012, including retirements and growing operational needs. This has resulted in quite a few new faces in the halls of 3373 Hillview Avenue. All of our new team members bring with them years of experience, interesting stories and backgrounds, and a passion for serving the community. They all look forward to getting to know SBC donors, volunteers, and friends.
For Dr. Moravid Moayeri, Assistant Medical Director since September 2012, the journey to Stanford Blood Center began several thousand miles from her Palo Alto office. Dr. Moayeri’s medical career began in Iran, where she was born in the large city of Shiraz. She attended Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, followed by two years of working as a general practitioner in underprivileged areas.
Her career’s next steps involved obtaining a PhD in genetics at George Washington University focusing on gene therapy for hemophilia A, followed by post-doctoral research at the National Institutes of Health. She completed her post-graduate medical training in clinical pathology and transfusion medicine/blood banking at the University of Chicago and later at UC- San Francisco.
With a long-held interest in transfusion science, Stanford Blood Center was a logical next step. Dr. Moayeri has been impressed with what she has experienced at Stanford thus far.
“The quality of work here is amazing,” she said. “The people here have so much dedication and knowledge. They care about doing their best. It’s wonderful.”
In her role, Dr. Moayeri works with the other medical directors to provide medical oversight for all blood center processes, with a specific emphasis on special donations (autologous donations, directed donations, special product requests, etc.) and components production and distribution. In her position, she also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine and is responsible for teaching pathology residents and clinical transfusion medicine fellows.
With so much on her plate, it’s no wonder that Dr. Moayeri has little time for outside hobbies she enjoys, such as painting and sewing.
“I used to sew a lot and made all of my own clothes,” she said. “Once I get a little less busy, I hope to do more of that.”
One thing Dr. Moayeri doesn’t want to see get less busy is the donor room. She encourages blood donors to make it a habit.
“Please come back and continue to donate, “ she said. “Patients depend on your generosity.”
Regina Driscoll is relatively new to Stanford Blood Center, but not at all new to blood banking. Before becoming Stanford Blood Center’s Director of Donor Services in November 2012, Driscoll worked for several Red Cross Blood Services Regional Operations, Rhode Island Blood Center, and Delta Blood Bank in Stockton.
“Blood banking was an immediate natural fit for me,” said Driscoll, who started in the industry as an administrative assistant. “In terms of mission, beliefs, and serving the community, it all fit very well.”
Driven and motivated, she sought out opportunities for growth within the industry, first as an account manager, then as a director of recruitment and blood collection operations. As the director of donor services, Driscoll manages all departments related to recruiting donors, collecting donations, and preparing donations for the lab so that they may be tested, processed, and distributed.
“Essentially, I work to ensure that we are collecting enough blood to serve our hospitals and that we’re following all regulatory guidelines,” she said. “Our goal is to provide the safest and purest product.”
An avid traveler, Driscoll has been to Mexico, Canada, and parts of Europe, as well as every state in the continental U.S. She highlights Yellowstone as a particular favorite. That sense of adventure also provided inspiration for her career path.
After working in blood banking for more than a decade, Driscoll began to contemplate making a significant life change. Having held a long-time interest in farming, she decided to pursue an internship at a dairy goat farm in North Carolina, where she made artisanal goat cheese.
“I decided to move to the farm and dedicate myself to learning as much as I could,” she said.
In 2010, she became the goat herd manager. She also worked on business development and grant writing for the farm.
“Ultimately, I decided that the farm was not going to be an option long-term,” she said. “I had missed the work I’d done and decided to return to blood banking. I heard from Stanford and it was perfect timing.
“I feel like things happen for a reason,” she added. “Winding my way here was one of them.”
“One of my favorite sayings is ‘life happens,’” says Senior Operations Director Jonathan Bautista. “What blood donors do is make sure that patients have the blood they need when life happens.”
Bautista joined Stanford Blood Center in November 2012. In his position, he oversees blood center operations from collections on one end to distribution on the other.
“My job involves ensuring that what we do meets the needs of donors and of the community,” he says.
Bautista began his career in blood banking in Denver, Colorado, where he worked as the hospital relations manager. There he worked with area hospitals to align their visions for providing quality health care services in Denver. He would later serve as the vice president of lab operations for a blood center in Louisiana.
“After working on the donor services side, I was then able to get experience on the technical services side,” he says. “Now I’m really able to understand each perspective.”
Though he’s still relatively new, Bautista has found a lot to like about Stanford Blood Center.
“I really like the environment here,” he says. “The people here are friendly and willing to collaborate. It’s all about meeting the needs of our hospitals and keeping donors happy.”
When he’s not in the office, Bautista enjoys golf, cooking, and big band music – he plays the tenor sax! A noted health enthusiast, Bautista is a certified instructor of both CrossFit and TRX, a type of strength training that uses suspension ropes to leverage your body weight. Bautista has also taken some time to explore his new surroundings, including the Stanford bookstore.
“We went to the bookstore and bought a few T-shirts,” he says. “Isn’t that what everyone does when they come to Stanford?”