Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center
Encyclopedia
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is an independent, nonprofit blood center
that gathers blood through donations
and provides blood
, blood components and related services. The center meets the blood and blood component needs of patients being treated in more than 170 healthcare institutions in the 26-county Texas
Gulf Coast, Brazos Valley
and East Texas
regions. The Blood Center began operations on Jan. 1, 1975 and is headquartered in the Texas Medical Center
in Houston. The Blood Center also has 17 Neighborhood Donor Centers located throughout the greater Houston area, College Station and East Texas.
To meet the needs of the area community, The Blood Center established a collection goal of 333,000 units in 2010, with more
than 1,000 donations per day. In 2007, the center collected a total of 291,319 units of blood and blood components, exceeding 2006's record by more than 18,000 units. In 2009, The Blood Center collected 331,298 units, surpassing the 2009 goal by more than 11,290 units.
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is accredited, licensed and inspected by AABB
, the Food and Drug Administration
as well as local and state authorities.
Commit for Life brought a new way of doing business to The Blood Center, focusing on the lives saved every day, rather than on the act of donating blood. The Blood Center partnered with Houston-based strategic marketing firm Next Level Thinking to develop and implement the Commit for Life brand. Since its inception in 2003, Commit for Life has been a very successful program; annual collections increased 50 percent from 2003 to 2009.
Commit for Life also includes programs designed to increase participation from groups that host blood drives, blood drive volunteers and high schools.
The Commit for Life Group Program is a program for organizations that: 1) Host one blood drive per quarter; 2) schedule the donors; and 3) spread the work. Organizations that hold at least four blood drives per year are honored at The Blood Center’s annual “A Celebration of Life” luncheon and awards presentation. In 2010, approximately 850 businesses, churches, schools and other organizations were honored at this appreciation event.
The Commit for Life Volunteer Program partners with individuals who support The Blood Center through donations of their time by: 1) Volunteering 10 hours per quarter; 2) allowing The Blood Center to contact them; and 3) spreading the word.
Student-led blood drives account for approximately 20 percent of The Blood Center’s total mobile blood drives. The Blood Center offers educational and financial benefits to high schools that participate in The Power of Life, a Commit for Life program designed for high schools that: 1) Partner with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center; 2) host a training and education program; and 3) spread the word.
and has recruited more than 90,000 potential donors who can donate bone marrow
or hematopoietic cells. The center is one of the leading bone-marrow donor centers in the country and is the leading center for minority recruitment according to the National Marrow Donor Program. The center's marrow donor registry has a donor base of more than 100,000 donors, and through 2007, facilitated 329 matches.
Blood bank
A blood bank is a cache or bank of blood or blood components, gathered as a result of blood donation, stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a division of a hospital laboratory where the storage of blood product occurs and where proper...
that gathers blood through donations
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
and provides blood
Whole blood
Whole blood is a term used in transfusion medicine for human blood from a standard blood donation. The blood is typically combined with an anticoagulant during the collection process, but is generally otherwise unprocessed...
, blood components and related services. The center meets the blood and blood component needs of patients being treated in more than 170 healthcare institutions in the 26-county Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Gulf Coast, Brazos Valley
Brazos Valley
The Brazos Valley is a region in the U.S. state of Texas consisting of Brazos County, Robertson County, Grimes County, Washington County, Burleson County, Madison County, and Leon County, with Brazos County and the cities of College Station and Bryan at its center...
and East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
regions. The Blood Center began operations on Jan. 1, 1975 and is headquartered in the Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research...
in Houston. The Blood Center also has 17 Neighborhood Donor Centers located throughout the greater Houston area, College Station and East Texas.
To meet the needs of the area community, The Blood Center established a collection goal of 333,000 units in 2010, with more
than 1,000 donations per day. In 2007, the center collected a total of 291,319 units of blood and blood components, exceeding 2006's record by more than 18,000 units. In 2009, The Blood Center collected 331,298 units, surpassing the 2009 goal by more than 11,290 units.
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is accredited, licensed and inspected by AABB
AABB
The AABB is a United States-based professional body and standards organization that was founded in 1947 as the American Association of Blood Banks. The organization is now international with members in 80 countries and has taken on a broader scope to include all of transfusion medicine as well as...
, the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
as well as local and state authorities.
Commit for Life Program
In 2003, The Blood Center launched Commit for Life, which is a partnership between the community and Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center that is focused on saving lives and permanently increasing the blood supply. The Commit for Life program works to achieve this goal by partnering with individual donors who are willing to: 1) Donate once per quarter; 2) allow The Blood Center to contact them; and 3) spread the word.Commit for Life brought a new way of doing business to The Blood Center, focusing on the lives saved every day, rather than on the act of donating blood. The Blood Center partnered with Houston-based strategic marketing firm Next Level Thinking to develop and implement the Commit for Life brand. Since its inception in 2003, Commit for Life has been a very successful program; annual collections increased 50 percent from 2003 to 2009.
Commit for Life also includes programs designed to increase participation from groups that host blood drives, blood drive volunteers and high schools.
The Commit for Life Group Program is a program for organizations that: 1) Host one blood drive per quarter; 2) schedule the donors; and 3) spread the work. Organizations that hold at least four blood drives per year are honored at The Blood Center’s annual “A Celebration of Life” luncheon and awards presentation. In 2010, approximately 850 businesses, churches, schools and other organizations were honored at this appreciation event.
The Commit for Life Volunteer Program partners with individuals who support The Blood Center through donations of their time by: 1) Volunteering 10 hours per quarter; 2) allowing The Blood Center to contact them; and 3) spreading the word.
Student-led blood drives account for approximately 20 percent of The Blood Center’s total mobile blood drives. The Blood Center offers educational and financial benefits to high schools that participate in The Power of Life, a Commit for Life program designed for high schools that: 1) Partner with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center; 2) host a training and education program; and 3) spread the word.
Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program
The center is an accredited donor center for the National Marrow Donor ProgramNational Marrow Donor Program
National Marrow Donor Program® Be The Match is the global leader in providing marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants to patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases. The nonprofit organization matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more...
and has recruited more than 90,000 potential donors who can donate bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
or hematopoietic cells. The center is one of the leading bone-marrow donor centers in the country and is the leading center for minority recruitment according to the National Marrow Donor Program. The center's marrow donor registry has a donor base of more than 100,000 donors, and through 2007, facilitated 329 matches.