Bloodworks Northwest

Bloodworks Northwest is a blood bank and medical research institute headquartered in Seattle, Washington that serves 90 hospitals in western Washington and Oregon. It has formerly been known as the Puget Sound Blood Center and King County Central Blood Bank.

Bloodworks Northwest
Formation1944
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Chief Executive Officer
Curt Bailey
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Barbara Konkle
Chief Medical Officer
Yanyun Wu
Revenue (2014)
$152,389,350[1]
Expenses (2014)$155,272,902[1]
Staff (2020)
901[2]
Formerly called
Puget Sound Blood Center

History

Bloodworks Northwest was founded in 1944 as the King County Central Blood Bank. Its first director, Richard Czajkowski, was retained the same year, leading the organization until his retirement in 1967.

Originally serving hospitals in King County, Washington, King County Central Blood Bank gradually expanded its service area to include Kitsap, Whatcom, Skagit, Mason, Thurston, Jefferson, and Clallam counties. In 1974 it was renamed Puget Sound Blood Center to better reflect its growing geography. In 1991 the reach of Puget Sound Blood Center expanded further when it was merged with the Snohomish-Island Counties Blood Bank. The blood bank rebranded itself again in 2015, adopting the name Bloodworks Northwest.[3]

Operations
The Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute building pictured in 2015.

Bloodworks Northwest operates 12 donation centers in western Washington, as well as mobile donation vehicles.[3] Bloodworks Northwest claims it collects about 900 units of blood each day.

Bloodworks Northwest also partners with western Washington hospitals to collect and preserve umbilical cord blood from new mothers, which are harvested for stem cells used in research and cancer treatment. The cord blood program was initiated in 1998 with a start-up grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[4]

In addition to its blood transfusion programs, Bloodworks Northwest also operates a hematology research institute. The Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute is housed in a facility in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle. According to the organization, it employs a scientific staff of about 70.[5]

References
  1. "Puget Sound Blood Center And Program". Washington Secretary of State Charities Division. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  2. Parkhurst, Emily (December 24, 2014). "Puget Sound Blood Center chief 'pleased' FDA ending ban on gay male blood donors". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  3. Aleccia, Jonel (February 4, 2015). "Puget Sound Blood Center changes name to Bloodworks Northwest". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  4. Davidow, Julie (August 2, 2006). "The use of umbilical cord blood to help fight diseases is on the rise". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  5. "Research at Bloodworks Northwest". bloodworksnw.org. Bloodworks Northwest. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
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