While plasma had been transfused as part of whole blood for hundreds of years, the specific value of plasma became acutely clear as a result of the devastating violence of WWII. Though plasma could not replace lost red cells and...
Did you know that patients across the U.S. require nearly 10,000 units of plasma every day? Plasma is the yellow liquid portion of the blood in which the red cells, white cells and platelets are suspended. It contains numerous proteins...
In the start of April 2020, SBC became one of the first blood centers in the nation to create a COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) program. The program, which encouraged recovered COVID-19 patients to donate antibody-rich plasma for current COVID-19 patients,...
Dr. Sam P. Most, Chief of the Division of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford Health Care (SHC) and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, is not only an accomplished and beloved member of the Stanford community; he...
In early March, COVID-19, while present in San Mateo County, was still reported to be a low health risk to the general public. In fact, the first case of unknown origin in the county had just been identified March 2....
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 —...
By Dianne Geary and Tho Pham, MD When a whole blood donation gets to lab, it goes for a spin in a centrifuge. From a whole blood unit, Stanford Blood Center (SBC) can then potentially get three products: packed red cells,...
By Kristin Stankus, digital community and social media specialist Here at Stanford Blood Center (SBC), we know blood is the liquid of life. So imagine living life knowing that if you happen to get injured or need surgery, you could...
Each year, more than 5 million people require blood transfusions due to illness, surgery or serious injury. There is no manufactured alternative to human blood so the blood collected from donors is the only supply available to patients in need,...
The Stanford Blood Center (SBC) mission states “We provide hope for the future: teaching tomorrow’s leaders in transfusion medicine, researching to unlock mysteries inherent in blood, and connecting donors to patients every day.” Part of the work SBC does to...