Blood Banking Community Forms Task Force To Respond To Future Domestic Disasters And Acts Of Terrorism

American Red Cross
Wednesday, 30 January 2002

New Task Force Develops Preparation Plan with Focus on Integrating Communication and Coordination Efforts

America's blood banking and transfusion medicine community announces new recommendations for responding to future domestic disasters and acts of terrorism. The Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism will present its recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability on Thursday, January 31, at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.

"The best preparation for the next disaster is to ensure that we have adequate blood inventories on our shelves every day in all locations across the country," said Karen Shoos Lipton, chief executive officer of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). "The Task Force is committed to ensuring that future blood collection efforts run smoothly and are managed properly, with the public receiving clear and consistent messages regarding the status of America's blood supply."

Convened by the AABB, the Task Force is comprised of representatives from varied blood services and associations, governmental agencies and commercial entities, including: AABB, AdvaMed, America's Blood Centers (ABC), American Red Cross (ARC), Armed Services Blood Program Office (ASBPO), Blood Centers of America (BCA)/hemerica, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA). Donald Doddridge, chief operations officer of Florida Blood Services, Inc., serves as chairman of the Task Force.

Based on lessons learned from the September 11 attack on America, the Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism has concluded that the blood banking community must work together to ensure that facilities maintain safe and adequate inventories at all times in preparation for disasters, and to have a mechanism in place to assess the need for collections and/or transportation of blood should a disaster occur.

Under the plan developed by the Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism, the AABB will serve as the designated coordinating entity for the blood community. In the event of a disaster, the AABB will immediately convene a meeting of task force representatives. Local blood center(s) will be responsible for ascertaining medical need based on casualty estimates using pre-determined formulas (to be developed), assessing available local supply and communicating that information to the AABB Task Force.

In a disaster, the first priorities of the Task Force will be to:

- Verify and communicate to the blood community the medical need for blood;

- Identify sites with existing excess blood inventory;

- Determine the need, if any, for blood shipment and the logistics of such shipments; and

- Develop public messages and facilitate the discussion of donor issues.

For a detailed copy of the AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism's recommendations, visit www.aabb.org and click on "Pressroom," or call Jennifer Garfinkel, AABB's director of public relations, (301) 215-6557.

"The diverse membership of the Task Force demonstrates how the blood banking profession, federal agencies and the business community can work together to ensure the safety and availability of the U.S. blood supply," said Jim McPherson, chief executive officer of America's Blood Centers (ABC). "In order to ensure availability, it is imperative that we encourage donors to make giving blood a regular part of their lives, and focus on bringing back the first-time donors who gave blood following the attacks."

Millions of blood donors rolled up their sleeves in the hours, days and weeks following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Presently, the blood donation rate is, for the most part, back to pre-September 11 levels, according to the National Blood Data Resource Center, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Association of Blood Banks.

"A sense of patriotism and civic duty flooded blood centers the days following the terrorist attacks – a feeling that's not been generated since World War II," said Dr. Jerry Squires, vice president and chief scientific officer, American Red Cross. "Now we must re-energize these donors to give every 56 days, not just during a national emergency, and create the next generation of donors."

About the American Association of Blood Banks

Established in 1947, the AABB is the professional association of nearly 2,000 institutions and 8,000 individuals. The AABB's mission is to establish and promote the highest standards of care for patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking, transfusion medicine, hematopoietic, cellular and gene therapies, and tissue transplantation. AABB's international mission is to coordinate and promote improvements in blood banking and transfusion safety internationally by supporting the development of national and/or regional standards, as well as development of mechanisms for assessing compliance with those standards.

About America's Blood Centers

America's Blood Centers is a network of local non-profit community blood centers, which nationwide collected 6.75 million units of whole blood in 2000 – that's about half of the U.S. blood supply. America's Blood Centers are located in 45 states, serving more then 125 million people at 450 blood donation sites. Members of America's Blood Centers provide blood products and services to more than 3,100 hospitals nationwide.

About American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is dedicated to saving lives, easing suffering and restoring hope at home and around the world. Currently operating on a budget of $3 billion, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 67,000 disasters nationwide and has been a primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the U.S. for more than 50 years. In 2000, the Red Cross also trained almost 12 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provided direct health services to nearly 2.6 million people and delivered more than 21 million locally relevant community services. The organization also assisted international disaster and conflict victims in close to 40 locations around the globe, and its emergency communication centers processed 1.2 million calls in support of U.S. military families.

For more information, or to contact American Red Cross, see their website at: www.redcross.org