American Red Cross donating blood to hospitals?
Sandi Asked:
Why does the American Red Cross sell the donated blood to hospitals instead of giving it to them? Also how much do they net annually on the selling of blood to Hospitals?
We Found:
We spoke to Rodney J. Wilson, Communications Manager and Marketing Strategy Officer for the American Red Cross, Central Ohio Blood Services Region, he says the Red Cross blood program operates the same way all blood banks operate, through our relationships with our hospital partners. The Red Cross is a non-profit organization and we do not sell blood to hospitals. The donated blood is a free gift from the donor to the patient who needs it. But there are a number of costs associated with preparing the donated blood for patient transfusion.
Blood banks invest in each donation by paying for the collections kits, the staff, the equipment needed at blood drives, the storage of blood products, the tests to ensure blood safety, and the transportation of blood to hospitals. All of this is necessary to prepare the blood for patients.
Through our long standing relationships with hospitals, the hospitals reimburse us the costs we have incurred through this process on a cost recovery basis.
Many people generously donate money to the Red Cross. Those donated dollars fund a number of programs such as disaster response, first aid and CPR trainings, community programs, etc. But no donated dollars go toward the blood program. Our relationships with hospitals are what make the blood program possible, and therefore donated dollars can be used for emergency response efforts to house fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, etc.
This process is how the blood banking industry has been able to operate for more than 50 years.
Blood Banking: How the industry works
1-800-GIVE-LIFE l bloodsaveslives.org
• Community responsibility is based on the tradition of neighbor
helping neighbor. This spirit of giving allows the community blood
bank to operate.
• The American Red Cross asks people to give blood regularly to
help meet the need for blood throughout the year.
• This approach is an active, rather than a reactive, way to maintain
an adequate blood supply for the American public.
• The American Red Cross is a non-profit organization, and we
recover only costs associated with collecting and providing blood
products through partnerships with hospitals. Our expenses
include staff, materials and equipment for:
• Without volunteer blood donors, there would be no American
Red Cross Blood Services.
• Recruiting blood donors
• Drawing blood
• Testing blood
• Manufacturing blood products like red cells, platelets
and plasma
• Packaging and storing blood products
• Shipping and distributing blood products to hospitals
• Keeping detailed records of every unit collected
• We have long-standing relationships and agreements with hospitals
in which they reimburse the Red Cross only the expenses that
have been invested in preparing each blood product for patient
transfusion. This allows the blood banking industry to operate.
• The strength of American Red Cross Blood Services lies in the
active involvement of people who voluntarily donate blood
to meet demands in their community and around the country.
• Volunteer blood donors are the only source of blood products for
hospital patients.
