Looking Westward Toward the Future
For more than 85 years, Blood Bank of Hawaiʻi (BBH) has been a cornerstone of the state’s healthcare system, serving as the sole provider of blood and blood components for every hospital statewide, including the neighbor islands and the largest hospital on Guam. Founded in 1941 at The Queen’s Medical Center, BBH is the oldest independent community blood center in the United States.
As Hawaiʻi’s healthcare needs evolved, BBH envisioned a modern headquarters designed to expand capacity, integrate advanced technology, and strengthen emergency preparedness. The Honolulu rail project accelerated this long-planned transition, creating the opportunity to build a new facility from the ground up. Today, BBH proudly looks westward, joining the Kapolei community with a headquarters built to safeguard Hawaiʻi’s blood supply for generations.
Technology, Blood Processing, and Rare Blood Repository
The Kapolei headquarters is a 19,000-square-foot, FDA Biosafety Level 2 blood processing center designed for resilience and readiness. The facility features advanced temperature controls, secure data connectivity, and integrated cold-chain storage, including ultra-low temperature freezers capable of preserving blood and biologics for up to ten years.
Serving as the foremost blood processing center and rare blood repository in the Pacific Rim, Kapolei supports Hawaiʻi’s uniquely diverse population. BBH maintains the nation’s largest repository of rare blood types—many found among Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Japanese, and other Asian populations—ensuring lifesaving access for patients in Hawaiʻi, across the continent, and the Pacific Rim during emergencies, public health crises and disasters.
Young Street and Waikele Donor Centers
While Kapolei functions primarily as a processing and storage hub, it will also include a small donor center open multiple days a week for whole blood and platelet donations. This site complements BBH’s existing donor centers at Young Street and Waikele, both of which will remain open. The Kapolei donor center increases accessibility and reliability for West Oʻahu donors while strengthening Hawaiʻi’s overall blood supply.
Workforce Development
The Kapolei headquarters expands BBH’s impact beyond blood banking to include workforce development. Dedicated laboratory and training space supports hands-on learning and career pathways for high school graduates and early-career professionals. This investment addresses Hawaiʻi’s shortages of laboratory technicians, phlebotomists, and allied health professionals while strengthening BBH’s long-term operational sustainability.
Mahalo to Our Community
This transformational project would not have been possible without the extraordinary support of government leaders, philanthropic partners, donors, and the broader community. From federal funding secured through Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation to the generosity of the Hawaii State Legislature, City and County of Honolulu, local foundations, businesses, and individual supporters, the Kapolei headquarters stands as a powerful example of what Hawaiʻi can accomplish together.
BBH is deeply grateful for the trust placed in this vision. As BBH joins the Kapolei community, it looks forward to growing together—strengthening public health preparedness, expanding opportunity, and ensuring that every patient in Hawaiʻi has access to the lifesaving blood they need, today and into the future.
