San Diego Blood Bank About Us
Our Mission Statement
Connecting diverse communities to save and improve lives through blood and biotherapies.
Our Vision
To be an integral leader in advancing health and wellness through medical innovation.
About San Diego Blood Bank
On November 15, 1972, at the official dedication of the San Diego Blood Bank headquarters previously located on Upas Street, the theme heard throughout the morning was that a total community effort will sustain San Diego Blood Bank.
Speaking at the dedication ceremony, Dr. Jonas A. Salk noted, “This building and the organization which made it possible evince a concern and respect for the human individual that is self-evident. The Blood Bank is a sign of the enormous health and strength in the community.”
Again on June 22, 2011, as the current headquarters building was dedicated at 3636 Gateway Center Avenue, blood donors Jerry Sanders, Mayor of the City of San Diego, Greg Cox, San Diego County Supervisor, and blood recipient and former Chargers Hall of Fame kicker Rolf Benirschke re-emphasized the need for total commitment to maintaining the community’s blood supply through the San Diego Blood Bank.
In the early years, San Diego Blood Bank collected stored and distributed blood products to hospitals in San Diego County just as it does today. Unlike those early years, however, when San Diego Blood Bank paid donors, the total amount of blood now brought into San Diego Blood Bank is provided by a 100% volunteer and unpaid blood donor effort. In 1968, 4,000 units of blood a month supplied the needs of our local hospitals. We now process approximately 10,000 units of blood per month and serve hospitals throughout Southern California.
San Diego Blood Bank provides Southern California regional hospitals with a wide range of blood banking services. These include blood collection, component preparation, plateletpheresis, plasmapheresis, leukapheresis, washed blood, frozen blood, autologous storage, designated donation services, and a reference laboratory. San Diego Blood Bank’s Cord Blood Banking Program provides lifesaving stem cell transplants to patients worldwide.
Today, San Diego Blood Bank is growing to meet the changing needs of our health care community. Frozen blood laboratories are now operated to accommodate the storage of frequently used and rare blood types, and for patients who wish to donate blood for their own future use. We also offer continuing education for the blood bank community.
San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization also operating as Southern California Blood Bank. The Blood Bank serves hospitals in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. We are the primary blood provider to Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and the safety net for hospitals in our region. Every year, more than 150,000 units of blood provided by San Diego Blood Bank are transfused into patients of all ages, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds throughout Southern California. These patients are struggling with life-threatening medical conditions including cancer and other blood disorders, severe burns, organ transplants, emergency surgery, trauma, childbirth complications and more.