The Cascade Team Blog

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Did You Know?

As a unique, hybrid provider of health care services for the community, Bloodworks Northwest collects, tests and distributes essential, lifesaving blood to nearly 90 hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. We’re transfusion experts who consult with physicians. We’re also medical professionals who deliver clinical care to patients with blood disorders and disease. We’re scientists at specialized laboratories who support patients and surgeons at organ transplant and cancer treatment centers. And we’re a respected Research Institute studying everything related to blood. Here are some of the ways we’re saving lives every day:

Your Community Resource For Lifesaving Blood

With the help of a 250,000 registered donors in the region, BloodworksNW collects about 900 units of blood each day. All blood receives immediate, comprehensive testing so that it can be available to 90 regional hospitals – usually in less than 24 hours after donation. We operate 11 donor centers and our mobile units travel to hundreds of blood drives every month at work sites, schools, churches, and other community locations throughout Western Washington.

   Volunteerism

BloodworksNW benefits from the dedicated work of more than 3,000 active volunteers. Volunteers welcome donors, assist with donor registration and monitoring, phone scheduling, transportation and administrative tasks. Our volunteers make a real difference and a vital contribution to help save lives, gain work experience, build skills, earn community service hours and feel justifiably proud about giving back to those in need.

Financial Donations

As an independent, community-based nonprofit organization, we rely on public support. Financial contributions help guarantee the delivery of essential blood services and transfusion expertise, as well as continued advancement in medical research and patient services. Your contribution can be designated for a specific medical program, for activities or special projects. We’re grateful to all who support our work.

Transfusion Medicine

BloodworksNW operations are an essential component of the region’s health care system to provide a safe, stable and community-based blood supply for Western Washington. Six BloodworksNW Transfusion Safety Officers work on-site in regional hospitals to ensure that blood transfusions are performed according to current best medical practices.

Patient Services

Our team of 12 physicians and nurses are recognized as the region’s premier specialists in the therapeutic application of apheresis—procedures that separate blood into its components. The team is available 24/7 to perform therapeutic plasma exchanges, cell depletions, outpatient transfusion services, peripheral blood stem cell collections, and red cell exchanges.

    Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC)

Established in 1974, our HTC offers comprehensive services to hemophilia patients, offering both physician and nursing care as well as statewide clinics, educational outreach, counseling, physical therapy and home infusion training.

Specialty Diagnostic Laboratories (SDL) and Immunogentics

SDL genotypes and phenotypes donor blood and platelets from thousands of donors annually to provide blood that is a “perfect match” for transplant patients and for patients with complex blood types. SDL performs diagnostic testing of patients with bleeding disorders, undertakes clinical trial work, partners with hospital transplant programs, and supports innovative studies with BloodworksNW’s Research Institute.

Cord Blood Program

BloodworksNW partners with hospitals across the region to recover and store umbilical cord blood from new mothers -- an important source of stem cells for use in cancer treatment, metabolic or immune system disorders, and research. BloodworksNW created the first and only public umbilical cord blood bank in the Northwest, and has program partnerships with 15 hospitals across Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

Bone Marrow Program

Working in concert with the national Be the Match Registry, BloodworksNW recruits prospective bone marrow donors for transplant to patients with leukemia and other diseases. We also coordinate further testing, and handle all blood stem cell collection, medical history, exams, and follow-up.

Research Institute

With over 70 years of research and discoveries, BloodworksNW scientists have transformed medical science with breakthroughs in transfusion medicine, blood biology, blood storage, cancer therapies, organ transplantation, and treatment of clotting disorders. Today, our staff of nearly 70 scientists across 11 laboratories continues to search for new knowledge, new technologies, new therapies, and new cures.

(Did You Know Sourced from BloodworksNW http://www.bloodworksnw.org/about/glance.htm)

For more information contact BloodworksNW by Phone: 206-292-6500 or online at http://www.bloodworksnw.org/contact/index.htm