The new service supports transplantation medicine for 13 million people across Northern California and Northern Nevada.
Stanford Blood Center has launched infectious disease and immunohematology testing services for organ procurement organizations and tissue banks, expanding its specialized laboratory support for transplantation medicine.
Since July 1, the center has provided these services for Donor Network West, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving more than 13 million people across Northern California and Northern Nevada. The testing helps ensure that lifesaving organs and tissues are evaluated for safety and efficiency before transplantation.
Organ procurement organizations and tissue banks coordinate donation processes following a person’s death, working with donor hospitals, transplant centers, and clinical laboratories. Detailed laboratory testing is a necessary step in these processes to ensure organs and tissues meet stringent federal requirements.
“For nearly five decades, Stanford Blood Center has been committed to providing highly specialized laboratory services that support some of healthcare’s most complex needs,” says Harpreet Sandhu, CEO of Stanford Blood Center, in a release. “As the last remaining donor testing laboratory in California and one of only a small number of laboratories positioned to support Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks nationally, we’re proud to expand our role in transplantation medicine by providing the testing that helps make organ and tissue donation and transplantation possible for patients across the West Coast.”
The addition of these services reflects the organization’s investment in supporting patients across the full continuum of care, from blood donation to organ and tissue transplantation. Founded in 1978, the center serves as a laboratory partner for healthcare organizations, researchers, and biotechnology innovators. In addition to the regional blood supply, the center provides testing for transfusion medicine, research, and advanced therapies.
The donor testing laboratory provides infectious disease and immunohematology testing for blood donation, bone marrow transplantation, and living organ donation. The center also maintains an onsite histocompatibility and immunogenetics laboratory for compatibility testing and monitoring of bone marrow and solid organ transplants.
Photo credit: Stanford Blood Center
