Читать книгу Transfusion Medicine - Jeffrey McCullough - Страница 45

The AABB is a professional, nonprofit, scientific, and administrative association for individuals and institutions engaged in the many facets of blood transfusion and cellular therapies. AABB member facilities collect virtually all of the nation’s blood supply and transfuse more than 80% to recipients. Approximately 900 institutions (community, regional, and American Red Cross blood centers; hospital blood banks; and hospital transfusion services) and approximately 5,500 individuals are members of the AABB. Members include physicians, scientists, medical technologists, administrators, blood donor recruiters, nurses, and public‐spirited citizens. The services and programs of the AABB include inspection and accreditation, standard setting, certification of reference laboratories, operation of a rare donor file, establishment of group purchasing programs, operation of a liability insurance program for blood banks, certification of specialists (technologists) in blood banking, collection of data about the activities of the membership, conduct of regional and teleconference educational programs, provision of professional self‐assessment examinations, and conduct of donor recruitment and public education seminars. In addition, the AABB sponsors the world’s largest annual meeting, where results of new research in blood banking and transfusion medicine are presented; publishes Transfusion, the nation’s leading journal reporting scientific, technical, and medical advances in blood banking and transfusion medicine; provides legislative and regulatory assistance to members; develops a wide variety of educational materials for blood bank professionals; and supports the National Blood Foundation, which provides funds for research in transfusion medicine and blood banking.

Institutional members of the AABB are classified either as a blood center, a hospital blood bank, or a hospital transfusion service. The blood center collects blood and distributes it to several hospitals but does not transfuse blood. A hospital blood bank both collects and transfuses blood, and a hospital transfusion service transfuses but does not collect blood.