Our Mission
Matching patient blood needs with lifesaving blood donations by:
Inspiring community participation
Optimizing efficiency and product quality through technology
Developing philanthropic resources to advance our mission
Our Story
Blood Bank of the Redwoods is a full-service blood center that provides lifesaving blood products to hospitals in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
The organization was started by a group of Santa Rosa Citizens in 1948 following the near-death experience of a new mom with a 2 day old baby. Sonoma County did not have enough blood products readily available for her at the time of the emergency. After this medically and emotionally difficult day, citizens clearly saw the need for a blood center to serve our communities. Since then Blood Bank of the Redwoods has been an important part of our community’s healthcare system, supplying a full range of blood products that help save lives.
The blood center operates one of only four biological laboratories that process and test blood in the state. Our community needs more than 30,000 units of blood each year, which means the organization must collect 100 units everyday. Our not-for-profit organization provides blood products to hospitals, multiple clinics and various home-care agencies. In 2008, Blood Bank of the Redwoods put the one-millionth pint of blood into the community bloodstream. This remarkable milestone stands as a testament to a community and an organization with a shared and lasting vision.
Our goal is to be a leader in transfusion medicine, and to provide quality blood products and services to our community in a safe, economical and expedient manner. By partnering with our community of donors and healthcare providers, Blood Bank of the Redwoods is able to maintain this critical community lifeline.
Internal Operations
- Not-for-profit, community
blood center
- 17-member Board of Directors
- More than 100 employees
- 24-hour/7-day service provider
Services and Programs Provided
- Volunteer blood donor collection services
- Blood bank patient services
- Component processing
- Blood typing, cross matching,
antigen screening
- 111,000 tests performed annually
- Educational resource for transfusion medicine
- Phlebotomist training
- Reference lab for hospital partners
- State and County disaster/emergency services network integration
- Distribution and inventory management
- Blood bank quality assurance program
|
 |
|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"In the North Bay’s non-profit sector, Blood Bank of the Redwoods is like a major biomedical firm and lab. They employ over 130 citizens, and this would rank them among the larger biomedical firms in Sonoma or Marin Counties. It has created almost $100 million of economic impact on Sonoma County. This is a vital organization and one of the most important in this region."
-- Robert Eyler
Director, Center for Regional Economic Analysis Sonoma State University,
School of Business and Economics |
