About Bloodworks Northwest
Bettering our communities, drop by drop.
We’re an independent, non-profit organization harnessing donor gifts to provide a safe, lifesaving blood supply to more than 90 Northwest hospitals. Patients depend on us. Our physicians are specialists in transfusion medicine, and provide care for patients with bleeding disorders and other conditions. Our labs offer diverse testing services to support organ and tissue transplantation as well as patient care. Our research institute makes scientific breakthroughs to help people live longer and healthier lives – locally, and around the world. Backed by more than 70 years of history (and previously known as Puget Sound Blood Center) we are a cornerstone of healthcare in the Northwest.
Our Mission
Saving lives through research, innovation, education and excellence in blood, medical and laboratory services in partnership with our community.
Questions or comments about our new name? Please send them to [email protected]
At a Glance
As a unique provider of health care services for the community, Bloodworks Northwest collects, tests and distributes lifesaving blood to more than 90 hospitals in the Northwest. We’re transfusion experts who consult with physicians. We are lab experts who support patients receiving organ transplants and cancer treatment. We’re medical professionals who deliver clinical care to patients with bleeding disorders and blood disease. We’re a Research Institute of scientists, with a legacy of medical breakthroughs. We are a respected center of excellence for everything related to blood.
Here are some of the ways we’re saving lives every day:
Your Community Resource For Lifesaving Blood
With the help of 230,000 registered donors and volunteers in the region, Bloodworks collects about 800 units of blood each day. All blood receives immediate, comprehensive testing so that it can be available to more than 90 regional hospitals – usually in less than 24 hours after donation. We operate 12 donor centers and our mobile units travel to hundreds of blood drives every month at work sites, schools, places of worship, and other community locations throughout Western Washington.
Volunteers
Bloodworks benefits from the dedicated work of 3,000 active volunteers. Volunteers welcome donors, assist with donor registration and monitoring, phone scheduling, transportation and administrative tasks. Our volunteers make a real difference to the community. Their vital contribution helps save lives, while they give back to the community, gain work experience, build skills, earn community service hours and feel justifiably proud about helping people in need.
Investing in our Mission
As a local, independent, community-based nonprofit organization, we rely on public support. Financial contributions help guarantee the delivery of essential blood services and transfusion expertise, as well as advancing our blood research and services for patients. Your contribution can be designated for a specific program, for activities or special projects. We’re deeply grateful to all who support our work.
Transfusion Medicine Experts
Bloodworks operations are an essential component of the region’s healthcare system – providing a safe, stable and community-based blood supply for Northwest communities. Our physicians are transfusion experts, available to hospitals 24/7 for consultation on challenging cases. Our transfusion safety officers work in hospitals to ensure that blood transfusions are performed according to current best medical practices.
Patient Services
Our team of physicians and nurses is recognized as premier specialists in the therapeutic application of apheresis—procedures that separate blood into its components. The team is available 24/7 to perform therapeutic plasma exchanges, cell depletions, outpatient transfusion services, peripheral blood stem cell collections, and red cell exchanges.
Washington Center for Bleeding Disorders
Established in 1974, our treatment center for hemophilia and bleeding disorders offers comprehensive services to hemophilia patients including physician and nursing care — as well as statewide clinics, educational outreach, counseling, physical therapy and home infusion training.
Laboratories and Immunogentics
Our multiple labs offer diverse services to healthcare providers. We genotype and phenotype donor blood and platelets from thousands of donors annually to provide blood that is a “perfect match” for transplant patients and for patients with complex blood types. We perform diagnostic testing of patients with bleeding disorders, undertake clinical trial work, partner with hospital transplant programs, and support innovative studies with the Bloodworks Research Institute.
Cord Blood Program
Bloodworks partners with hospitals across the region to recover and store umbilical cord blood from new mothers — an important source of stem cells for use in cancer treatment, metabolic or immune system disorders, and research. Bloodworks created the first and only public umbilical cord blood bank in the Northwest, and has program partnerships with 12 hospitals across Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.
Bone Marrow Collection
Working in concert with the National Marrow Donor Program, Bloodworks coordinates lab testing, stem cell collection and follow-up with registered donors who are supporting treatment of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening conditions.
Research Institute
With over 70 years of research and discoveries, Bloodworks scientists have transformed patient care with breakthroughs in transfusion medicine, blood biology, blood storage, cancer therapies, organ transplantation, and treatment of clotting disorders. Today, our staff of 70 scientists across 11 laboratories continues to search for new knowledge and new technologies to improve patient care. You will find our scientists in medical schools and at scientific forums sharing the latest blood science with doctors from around the region — and around the world.