About Blood Bank of Hawaii

Our Mission

The Blood Bank of Hawaii’s mission is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply for the patients of our state.

Our Values

Safety
We are committed to providing a safe work environment for all employees, maintaining the safety of our blood products and creating a safe donation experience for the thousands of individuals who give the gift of life each year. As a result of upholding these high standards, Hawaii’s blood supply is safer than ever before.
Regulatory Compliance
We adhere to all polices, procedures, regulations and guidelines as outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, the American Association of Blood Banks, the State Department of Health and other agencies as required. In addition, all policies are reviewed by a medical committee composed of selected trustees and physicians from our community. We rely on employees to perform their job duties with consistency in line with standard operating procedures.
Efficiency
We strive to maximize our time and resources to supply Hawaii’s hospitals with an adequate supply of safe blood products. Resourceful employees and efficient operations enable us to keep the blood processing costs to a minimum, which also benefits Hawaii’s patients.
Customer Service
We do our best to provide a pleasant, rewarding experience to those we work with – blood donors and medical professionals throughout the state. We show appreciation to our volunteer donors for all they do to help save lives. We work cooperatively with hospital transfusion specialists sharing expertise on medical issues, managing blood inventory and focusing on our partnership to help Hawaii’s patients.

Hawaii’s Community Blood Center
The Blood Bank of Hawaii is a non-profit organization that provides lifesaving blood products to 11 civilian hospitals on Oahu and eight civilian hospitals on the neighbor islands. Typical uses for the blood include surgical procedures, treatment of accident victims, ulcers, anemia, delivery for mother and baby, and cancer.

Blood is collected at two Blood Bank of Hawaii fixed sites – The Dillingham Donor Center and the Downtown Donor Center on Queen Street. The Blood Bank of Hawaii is also on the move daily, setting up mobile collection sites within companies, organizations and community centers. Two bloodmobiles also travel to communities on Oahu.

BBH employs more than 100 qualified professionals, including a medical director, nursing staff and lab technicians, who recruit volunteer donors, collect blood, prepare components and distribute blood products.

Saving Lives For Over 65 Years
Hawaii is one of the most isolated parcels of land in the world, and residents of the Aloha State understand the significance of self-sufficiency. The Blood Bank of Hawaii and its donors have a rich history, meeting the needs of Hawaii’s patients for decades.

The vision of establishing an organization that would provide a safe and reliable source of blood for Hawaii’s medical needs became a reality in February 1941, when the Public Health Committee of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce made funds available. Known then as the Honolulu Blood-Plasma Bank, the facility was located on the grounds of The Queen’s Hospital. Representative Walter H. Dillingham, Honolulu Jaycee President R. Allen Watkins and his wife Lucille were Hawaii’s very first blood donors that June.

With the outbreak of World War II a few months later, the Blood Bank served as a wartime agency under the Office of Civilian Defense, returning to its non-profit civilian status in 1943. The Honolulu Blood Plasma Bank officially changed its name to the Blood Bank of Hawaii in 1946. Services were expanded to include neighbor island blood drives and Hawaii’s unique ethnic population became nationally recognized as a source for many types of rare blood.

The advancement of blood banking as a science led the Blood Bank of Hawaii to begin a formal training program with University of Hawaii medical technology students in 1969, providing hands-on laboratory experience for future medical technology professionals. Advancements also meant that more laboratory space would be needed to accommodate the growing needs of the community. As a result, in 1979, the Blood Bank coordinated its first and only fundraising campaign, raising $ 1.6 million to build and fully equip its main donor center on Dillingham Boulevard. Rosetta Fish, an ardent Blood Bank supporter would later bequeath the land at the Dillingham site to the Blood Bank of Hawaii in 1994.

Today, the Blood Bank of Hawaii is on the cutting edge of technology, participating in state-of-the- research programs and adhering to the highest standards of safety and quality. More than 60,000 pints of blood will be collected from volunteer donors this year. A satellite donor center is located on Queen Street in downtown Honolulu. On the move daily, mobile collection sites are set up within companies and organizations and two bloodmobiles travel to communities throughout Oahu. In 1993, the Sullivan Family and Foodland Super Market donated a 34-foot bloodmobile. In 2006, a 45-foot bloodmobile was financed by First Hawaiian Bank and the following generous contributors: ABC Stores, Alexander & Baldwin Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation, Bank of Hawaii Charitable Foundation, Foodland Super Market, Ltd., Gannett Foundation, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Hawaii Hotel Association, Hawaiian Electric Foundation, HMSA Foundation, James & Abigail Campbell Foundation, Seto Foundation, and the Verizon Foundation.

The Blood Bank of Hawaii is a founding member with America's Blood Centers (ABC), which is the nation's largest network of independent not-for-profit community blood centers that collect about 45% of the nation's blood supply. ABC members are licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and maintain the highest levels of quality control to ensure a safe and dependable blood supply for the communities they serve. The Blood Bank of Hawaii is also a founding member of the American Association of Blood Banks whose mission is to establish and promote the highest standard of care for patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking.

Through strategic partnerships and alliances the Blood Bank of Hawaii contributes, as well as has access to the most recent issues, sophisticated technology and best practices from some of the most respected blood centers in the nation. In 1999, the Blood Bank of Hawaii joined an alliance with four other blood centers in the Pacific and Northwestern United States to enhance blood services, help prevent regional blood shortages, improve the safety of blood transfusions and to reduce costs. The alliance includes: Blood Bank of Hawaii; Blood Bank of Alaska, Inland Northwest Blood Center in Spokane, Washington; Lane Memorial Blood Bank in Eugene, Oregon; and Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle.