Formation 1944 Chief Scientific Officer James Zimring Revenue 152.4 million USD Founded 1944 Staff 800 | Chief Executive Officer James P. AuBuchon Chief Medical Officer Yanyun Wu Headquarters Seattle Expenses 155.3 million USD | |
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Formerly called Puget Sound Blood Center Profiles | ||
Seattle blood bank 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.
Contents
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.
Operations
Bloodworks Northwest operates 11 donation centers in western Washington, as well as mobile donation vehicles. 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.
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.