A place where blood is collected from donors, typed, separated into components, stored, and prepared for transfusion to recipients. A blood bank may be a separate free-standing facility or part of a larger laboratory in a hospital.
Typically, each donated unit of blood (whole blood) is separated into multiple components, such as red blood cells, plasma and platelets. Each component is generally transfused to a different individual, each with different needs.
An increasingly common blood bank procedure is apheresis, or the process of removing a specific component of the blood, such as platelets, and returning the remaining components, such as red blood cells and plasma, to the donor. This process allows more of one particular part of the blood to be collected than could be separated from a unit of whole blood. Apheresis is also performed to collect plasma (the liquid part of the blood) and granulocytes (white blood cells).
Each unit of whole blood is normally separated into several components. Red blood cells may be stored under refrigeration for a maximum of 42 days, or they may be frozen for up to 10 years. Red cells carry oxygen and are used to treat anemia. Platelets are important in the control of bleeding and are generally used in patients with leukemia and other forms of cancer. Platelets are stored at room temperature and may be kept for a maximum of five days. Fresh frozen plasma, used to control bleeding due to low levels of some clotting factors, is usually kept in the frozen state for up to one year. Cryoprecipitated AHF, which contains only a few specific clotting factors, is made from fresh frozen plasma and may be stored frozen for up to one year. Granulocytes are sometimes used to fight infections, although their efficacy is not well-established. They must be transfused within 24 hours of donation.
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB): The AABB is a key international association of blood banks, including hospital and community blood centers, transfusion and transplantation services and individuals involved in transfusion and transplantation medicine. The AABB establishes the standards of care for patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking; transfusion medicine; hematopoietic, cellular and gene therapies; and tissue transplantation. More than 2000 community and hospital blood banks, hospital transfusion services and laboratories and over 8000 individuals from the US and 80 countries outside the US make up the AABB
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blood bank -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
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