News about the Community Blood Bank and the Blood Bank Industry...
COMMUNITY BLOOD BANK CELEBRATES 35 YEARS OF SERVICE
Rancho Mirage, CA (March 18, 2008) – The Community Blood Bank recently celebrated 35 years of continuous service to the Coachella Valley and surrounding communities. The celebration dinner was held at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino Convention Center with nearly 300 guests in attendance. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the growth, development, and service of the Community Blood Bank, and to recognize those responsible: Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, financial contributors, and of course the blood donors. Featured speakers at the celebration included Al Whitney, with Platelets Across America and Caleb Barton, a local blood recipient.
Fulfilling it’s vital ‘life-giving’ mission 24 hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year, the Community Blood Bank annually supplies nearly 30,000 blood components for transfusion at the five area hospitals, including the Naval Hospital on the 29 Palms Marine Corp Base, and area cancer centers and home health agencies.
The Community Blood Bank’s main facility is located at 39000 Bob Hope Dr. in Rancho Mirage. The hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 8am to 6pm, Fridays 8am to 4pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm. In Palm Springs, donors may donate at the Mizell Senior Center, the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month from 2 pm to 6 pm. The Hi-Desert community can donate Mondays at 6942 Airway, in Yucca Valley from 1 pm to 6 pm. In the Indio area, the Bloodmobile is parked at JFK Memorial Hospital each Monday from 1-7pm. The Bloodmobile is also parked at the Sun Lakes Shopping Center in Banning on Wednesdays from 2pm to 6 pm.
For more information call the Community Blood Bank at (760) 773-4190.
08-17-2007: Read our newest press release about important safety information for donors and patients.
The Community Blood Bank position on important testing that affects both donors and patients
The Community Blood Bank in Rancho Mirage remains highly committed to providing the safest blood product possible. Chagas' Disease is a very debilitating disease that can be transmitted through blood transfusions. The donor screening profile that we implement includes testing for Chagas' Disease, and since early February, we have already screened out Chagas' positive donors. Without this test, these units of blood would have been transfused to patients! Also, these donors can now receive the proper medical attention because the disease has been diagnosed properly. Here is a portion of the Chagas' description from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Chagas' Disease has an acute stage, typically asymptomatic or with mild symptoms (e.g., fever, malaise, swelling at the site of inoculation and lymphadenopathy) during the first 6-8 weeks after infection. If not treated, infection is lifelong with low-level, intermittent parasitemia. The majority of infected persons remain asymptomatic in the chronic indeterminate phase (i.e., a prolonged period of clinically silent infection that follows acute primary infection). However, an estimated 30% will have onset of chronic symptomatic disease, usually decades after the initial infection, with cardiac manifestations (e.g., cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, and sudden death) or gastrointestinal involvement (e.g., megaesophagus or megacolon).
Nationally the instance of Chagas' Disease is rare; however, in Southern California and Arizona, studies are showing that Chagas' seroprevalance has increased to one in 5,400 donors. This is vastly different than the "one in millions" being thrown about by another blood bank right here in Riverside County.
Findings from the American Red Cross study described in the report provided evidence to support FDA approval of the first blood donor screening test for Chagas' Disease in the United States. Use of this test by blood centers to screen for T. cruzi antibodies, associated with Chagas' Disease, is not required. However, both the American Red Cross and Blood Systems, Inc., blood-collection organizations that are responsible for approximately 65% of the U.S. blood supply, began screening all donations for Chagas' Disease on January 29, 2007, and providing testing services for smaller blood-collection centers and hospitals that requested testing. FDA is expected to recommend implementation of the test by all blood-collection establishments.
<CDC article>
2-5-2007 Community Blood Bank begins Chagas' testing
Chagas' Disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), which is transmitted to animals and people by insects that are found mainly in rural areas of Latin America. The insect vectors are called triatomine bugs (other names include reduviid or kissing bug). These blood-sucking bugs get infected by biting an infected animal or person. The parasite is found in the feces of infected bugs. Chagas' Disease is mainly spread by the bite of the bug. During or after a blood meal, the bug defecates near the bite wound. Infection can result if a person accidentally scratches or rubs the feces into the bite wound, eyes, or mouth. All donated blood should be tested for T. cruzi before it is transfused to a patient. A sample of the donor's blood is tested using a screening test, called an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) that detects antibodies to T. cruzi. A second test, called RIPA, is then performed to confirm the presence of T. cruzi antibody. All blood from donors who test positive on the EIA test or the RIPA test is destroyed and is NOT used for transfusion. For the purposes of counseling, further confirmatory tests may be performed. If the screening and confirmatory tests are positive, a donor is considered infected with T. cruzi and is permanently deferred from donating blood.
Should a person with a positive T. cruzi/Chagas' test result donate blood?
NO. Studies show that T. cruzi can be transmitted through blood transfusion. Those with confirmed positive T. cruzi test results are permanently deferred from donating blood for others.
West Nile virus testing is fully implemented here at the Community Blood Bank.
Every donor unit is tested for the presence of the West Nile virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Since CBBC is located in a warm desert climate, we will do year-round testing for the virus.
The Community Blood Bank is participating in nationwide testing using molecular methods to test for the presence of the genetic material (RNA) of Hepatitis C and HIV. This is a nucleic acid technique (NAT) and should be very sensitive and specific. Like any other test, it is not perfect, but it is the best available at present. The hope is that NAT testing will prove so superior to today's methods that it will replace some of them. The increased sensitivity of NAT closes the window between exposure and a positive test to 11 days for HIV and 23 days for HCV, meaning that infectious units will be picked up much sooner. This test has not yet been licensed by FDA, so the testing is being performed as a research project under the FDA.
NAT results will also help clarify false positive HIV and HCV results. If one has a positive screening test, but negative or indeterminant confirmatory test, a negative NAT result will establish that it is a false positive screening test. Although rare, a positive NAT will confirm that the individual is infected.
So far, NAT is only being evaluated for HIV and HCV, but it can theoretically be expanded to cover all diseases transmitted by blood transfusion. Someday we may be able to drop the tests that cause so many false positive reactions (especially the RPR and anti-HBC) and re-evaluate those who had false positives. It may be possible to reinstate those who are NAT negative as eligible blood donors. If you had a false positive test, we keep that information on file and will notify you when improved testing allows re-entry.