American Red Cross

The American Red Cross (chartered as the American National Red Cross) is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States, as part of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

Red Cross biomedical services

Blood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The American Red Cross supplies roughly 45% of the donated blood in the United States. 45% comes from independed community-based blood centers and 10% is collected directly by hospitals. In December of 2004, the American Red Cross completed their largest blood processing facility in the United States in Pomona, California on the campus grounds of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The Red Cross has had several controversies surrounding their blood program in which the center mishandled donated blood.

Related Topics:
2004 - Pomona, California - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tissue services

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For more than twenty years, the American Red Cross provided allograft tissue for transplant through its Tissue Services Program. We cared for thousands of donor families who gave the gift of tissue donation and helped more than 1 million transplant recipients in need of this life saving or life-enhancing gift of tissue.

Related Topics:
Allograft - Transplant - Tissue donation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the end of January 2005, the American Red Cross made the difficult decision to end its Tissue Services program in order to focus on its primary missions of Disaster Relief and Blood Services. The tissue program may have ended, but the need to consider giving the gift of organ and tissue donation did not. The American Red Cross encourages everyone to learn more about this end-of-life gift that can save of the lives of as many as 8 people, and enhance the lives of more than 50 people.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Plasma services

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A leader in the plasma industry, the Red Cross provides more than one quarter of the nation's plasma products. Red Cross Plasma Services seeks to provide the American people with plasma products which are not only reliable and cost-effective, but also as safe as possible.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In February 1999, the Red Cross completed its "Transformation," a $287 million program that: re-engineered Red Cross Blood Services' processing, testing and distribution system;

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

established a new management structure; and positioned the Red Cross as a cutting-edge organization prepared to enter the 21st century.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On March 1, 1999, the American Red Cross became the first U.S. blood banking organization to implement a Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) study. This process is different from traditional testing because it looks for the genetic material of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), rather than the body's response to the disease.

Related Topics:
1999 - Nucleic Acid Testing - Genetic - HIV - Hepatitis C

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The NAT tests for HIV and HCV have been licensed by the FDA. These tests are able to detect the genetic material of a transfusion-transmitted virus like HIV without waiting for the body to form antibodies- potentially offering an important time advantage over current techniques.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leukoreduction

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A person's own leukocytes (white blood cells) help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, to avoid sickness or disease. But when transfused to another person, these same leukocytes do not benefit the recipient. In fact, these foreign leukocytes in transfused red blood cells and platelets are often not well tolerated and have been associated with some types of transfusion complications.

Related Topics:
Leukocytes - Bacteria - Viruses - Red blood cells - Platelets

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Red Cross is moving toward system-wide universal prestorage leukocyte reduction to improve patient care.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Research and Development

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our national research program makes significant contributions to biomedical science, blood safety, plasma-derived therapeutics and transfusion technology.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Red Cross operates one of the world's premier blood research facilities, the Jerome H. Holland Laboratory, based in Rockville, Md., where Red Cross researchers are engaged in cutting-edge research to develop the next generation of blood products and services. Each year, the Red Cross invests more than $25 million in research activities at the Holland Laboratory and in the field. This commitment to research allows the Red Cross to oversee dozens of scientific research projects seeking to improve the safety, purity and efficacy of blood.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cellular therapies

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One technique the Red Cross has identified that shows strong potential for treating people in new ways is through cellular therapies. This new method of treatment involves collecting and treating blood cells from a patient or other blood donor. The treated cells are then introduced into a patient to help revive normal cell function, replace cells that are lost as a result of disease, accidents or aging, or used to prevent illnesses from appearing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cellular therapy may prove to be particularly helpful for patients who are being treated for illnesses such as cancer, where the treated cells may help battle cancerous cells.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~