INBC News...

INBC News

Hard Hats Not Required - Construction at Regional Headquarters in Spokane

February, 2008

Please excuse our temporary construction mess in the donor room at Regional Headquarters.

What’s new at INBC?

• Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) currently has several construction projects occurring throughout the building, including one in the area connected to the east side of our donor room.

How will it affect you?

• While in the donor room, donors may notice a new temporary wall on the east side of the room.  That wall will protect donors and staff from the construction work taking place behind the wall.
• Other than some minor cosmetic changes, a bit of construction noise now and then and a smaller and cozier donor room, donors shouldn’t be directly affected! 

Why all the changes?

• INBC has been providing vital blood products to hospitals and medical centers throughout the Inland Northwest for more than 60 years.
• INBC continues to grow with the hospitals we serve, making improvements to our facilities and services as needed.
• Construction crews are adding several new staff offices on the first floor of regional headquarters, requiring some adjustments to the donor room.
• When construction of the offices is complete, the temporary wall will be removed and the new “look” on the east side of the donor room will be revealed.

What is the timeline?

• Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

We encourage you to sit back, relax, try to ignore the “music” made by construction crews… and enjoy giving the gift of LIFE! We appreciate YOU! 

(And as an additional thank you – we promise not to make you wear a hard hat!)

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New Hours at Regional Headquarters in Spokane

July, 2007

INBC announces new expanded hours at Regional Headquarters in Spokane, to meet the needs of our valued donors.

Improvements to the Donor History Questionnaire

Summer, 2007

There will soon be changes to the questions asked of blood donors on the donor history questionnaire. 

• The questions are being revised to ensure that donors can more easily understand them, there by achieving the most accurate response possible.
• There will be two main types of questions on the revised questionnaire:

1. Questions that cover a broad topic, such as “Have you ever had Hepatitis?” in which a YES answer would prompt further questioning.

2. Questions that check to ensure a donor is paying attention.

• On the new questionnaire, donors will no longer be asked specific questions about :
  • Having a cold or the flu
  • If they are donating blood just to be tested for HIV or AIDS
  • Travel to certain African countries

• Donors will no longer be required to list all medications on the questionnaire. Instead, the donor will be required to read a Medication Deferral list prior to having their medical history completed by INBC staff, informing the historian if any of their current medications are on the list.
• The revised questionnaire will be implemented on Wednesday August 1, 2007.
• As always, we at INBC are committed to providing you with the best donation experience possible. As a part of this commitment, we highly value your thoughts and opinions. Please contact us if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

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New Days and Hours at Samaritan Healthcare and Sacred Heart Medical Center!

Effective the week of April 9, 2007, the INBC collection center located at Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake will add Tuesdays as an additional day of operation for Columbia Basin blood donors. The collection hours have also been expanded to help accommodate donor schedules (11:00am to 5:30pm). In 2002, the hospital graciously invited INBC to collect blood at their newly remodeled facility and has done so on Mondays ever since. Thanks to the tremendous support of the community over the past few years, the operation has grown to the point where it was determined another day was needed. INBC is the sole provider of blood products to both Samaritan Healthcare and Columbia Basin Hospital.

Effective April 16, 2007, INBC’s blood collection site located at Sacred Heart Medical Center will relocate to the Mary Bede Room conveniently located next to the hospital’s cafeteria. Instead of weekly, blood donations will be taken every third Monday of the month with expanded hours from 7:00am to 4:00pm. The blood center’s move from the Woman’s Health Center will increase visibility and accessibility for blood donors, both hospital staff and visitors. Sacred Heart Medical Center is the region’s largest user of blood products and is a valued partner with INBC on behalf of local patient care.

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Inland Northwest Blood Center Expands Its Services To The Palouse Region

The Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) announced to the public March 1, 2007 that it will become the sole supplier of blood and blood products to Whitman Hospital and Medical Center in Colfax, Pullman Regional Hospital, and Gritman Medical Center in Moscow effective April 1, 2007.

The three Palouse hospitals chose the Spokane based independent blood center for its ability to deliver a reliable, timely, cost effective and local blood supply, as well as a wider array of transfusion and transplant services. INBC will begin regularly scheduled blood drives at the three Palouse hospitals after April 1.

"INBC provides a single source for blood supply to Palouse hospitals, including Pullman, Moscow, Colfax and Lewiston," said Scott Adams, CEO of Pullman Regional Hospital. "This collaborative approach ensures a reliable and efficient continuum of care for the patients and providers in the region."

"Having a supply of blood available locally goes a long way toward improving healthcare in this region," added Jon Davis, CEO of Whitman Hospital and Medical Center.

INBC will hire five new employees locally to support their Palouse area collections and plans to open a collection center in the area as soon as it is feasible. "It was important to us that donors who have given blood to other collection organizations will be able to transfer that credit over to INBC," said Jeff Martin, CEO of Gritman Medical Center. INBC has served the Lewis-Clark Valley medical community since 1990 and opened a collection center in Lewiston, Idaho, in 2004.

Prior to the agreement with INBC, the three hospitals received blood products from Boise or Salt Lake City. Under the new agreement, INBC will maintain the blood supply in the Palouse Region.

INBC is the sole provider of blood products and related services to more than 30 hospitals and medical facilities in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, serving over one million residents. The organization was founded by the Spokane medical community over 60 years ago as a not-for-profit organization. While the INBC's service will be new to these area hospitals, the organization has a long history on the Palouse collecting blood at Washington State University for 30 years and at the University of Idaho for 20 years.

INBC is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks and is licensed as a blood collection establishment by the Food and Drug Administration. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of members of the Inland Northwest Regions medical, educational and corporate institutions as well as its hospital partners. One member of the Board currently resides in Lewiston.

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Inland Northwest Blood Center responds to recent questions about rare condition linked to blood plasma.

A recent article in area newspapers may have raised some concerns regarding the acceptability of female blood donors. Please be assured that female blood donors are welcome and urgently needed at Inland Northwest Blood Center.

We have recently taken (December 2006) proactive measures designed to make our plasma even safer for patients in our area. The quest to make blood safer is a never ending endeavor, and we at INBC are committed to providing the safest blood products for our patients as possible. Blood is a precious and vital commodity and every day we at INBC rely on women and men to donate this life saving gift.

For more detailed information about Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) and the steps that INBC has taken, please review the following frequently asked questions.

What Is Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury?

Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) is an uncommon but serious respiratory complication of blood transfusion. Severity ranges from a mild respiratory reaction to severe, life threatening complications. Severe reactions may require mechanical ventilation and other supportive measures.

How Common Is TRALI?

Current estimate is 1 in 5,000 transfusions will result in mild to severe TRALI reactions. There were approximately 20 TRALI associated fatalities per year reported to the Food and Drug Administration over the last few years. Approximately 24 million blood components are transfused every year in the U.S.

Who Is At Risk For TRALI?

All patient groups are at risk for TRALI especially patients receiving transfusion of blood products containing large amounts of plasma such as Fresh Frozen Plasma and Apheresis platelets. Obviously, many patients who develop TRALI have serious underlying medical problems that can make recognizing TRALI difficult.

What Are The Causes Of TRALI?

The exact cause is not known at this time, however, most theories involve substances in the blood product that react with and activate the white blood cells in the recipient. These substances can include antibodies directed against white blood cell antigens (granulocyte antigens, HLA Class I and II antigens) or biologically active lipids that accumulate in blood products during storage. At this time the most widely accepted theory for the etiology of TRALI is the antibody theory.

What Donors Are At Risk For Having White Blood Cell Antibodies?

Most donors with white blood cell antibodies are those who have been pregnant two or more times. Individuals who have been previously transfused or who have received human organ or tissue transplants could also form these antibodies. Unfortunately, there is not at this time a licensed test for the screening of these antibodies in blood donors or for the identification of other possible causes of TRALI.

What Is Currently Being Done To Address This Problem?

Until the present moment, there has not been agreement about what measures should be taken by the blood collection and transfusing agencies to address the problem of TRALI. However, current research suggests that using mostly male plasma for transfusion may substantially reduce the risk of this uncommon but serious complication.

The Inland Northwest Blood Center is using plasma from male donors as much as possible to prepare plasma for transfusion (Fresh Frozen Plasma). Red Blood Cells prepared by our current methods have a much lower risk for causing TRALI, and we are currently preparing Red Blood Cells for transfusion from both male and female donors. The plasma from the blood donated by females is being used for other extremely important purposes such as the manufacture of immunoglobulin and hemophilia factor replacement therapy. These products have almost no risk to cause TRALI and are always in short supply.

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Revised Guidelines Require All Donors to Have Picture ID

The Inland Northwest Blood Center is announcing a revision to its personal identification (ID) requirement effective January 1, 2007. The new guidelines specify donors must present ID which includes a photograph and full name (both first and last name) each time they register to donate blood products at all mobile blood drives and collection centers. Acceptable forms of ID include: 

• Any state issued Driver License
• Any state issued ID card
• Passport
• Military ID Card (must include photo and full name)
• School ID Card (must include photo and full name)
• Employment ID Card (must include photo and full name)
• High School “Mug Book” (Note: This is an official school sanctioned document NOT to be confused with a yearbook or other public photo roster)

Please note that due to this change, the commonly used INBC Wallet Card cannot be used alone as personal identification. We appreciate your help in complying with these new guidelines. Questions can be directed to INBC’s Quality Assurance Department.    

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Males Having Sex with Other Males (MSM) Blood Donation Deferral Regulation

The America’s Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), to which the Inland Northwest Blood Center is a member of both, along with the American Red Cross have been working with the Food and Drug Administration to consider modification of the current lifetime deferral from donating blood for men who have a history of sexual relations with other men.  It is the Inland Northwest Blood Center’s position that the best medical and scientific information available should be used to establish the deferral criteria for all groups thought to be at increased risk for transfusion-transmitted infections.

At this time, the Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) can only collect blood and support its lifesaving mission in strict accordance with the mandates of its blood establishment license as granted by the Food and Drug Administration.  Although we appreciate our donors’ concerns that the differentiation of sexual transmission via male-to-male sexual activity from that via heterosexual activity may be discriminatory and unfair, we are not at liberty to unilaterally ignore this federally mandated prohibition.  INBC will support the FDA’s review and subsequent determination on the MSM deferral.

For the FDA’s position on the MSM issue, go to:  http://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/bldfaq.htm

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Jean Merrill, Operations Supervisor, retires after 40 years at INBC!

Out of the sixty years the Inland Northwest Blood Center was in existence, Jean Merrill dedicated forty of it providing countless blood donors and patients with the highest of quality care. On September 20, 1965, Jean began her remarkable and successful career at what was then called the Spokane and Inland Empire Blood Bank. For over four decades, she inspired and led staff and volunteers to dedicate themselves to helping INBC fulfill its mission of providing a safe and adequate blood supply on behalf of patient care in the Inland Northwest, and beyond. Jean is known for her gracious hospitality, expert clinical skill, and true heart-felt appreciation for the altruistic volunteer blood donors who selflessly provide the ‘Gift of Life’.

Jean’s commitment and passion to offer educational opportunities regarding the blood industry and INBC’s role as the primary provider of blood products in the Inland Northwest continues into her retirement with the establishment of the “Jean Merrill Education Fund”. The blood industry continues to change as medical advancements bring new and innovative methods for providing patient care. This fund, named in honor of Jean, has been developed to help provide INBC staff, volunteers, donors, and patients with continued educational opportunities.  Donations toward, or questions in regards to this fund can be addressed by contacting the Development Department at INBC.

On February 6, 2006 at the weekly Spokane City Council Meeting, a proclamation from Mayor Dennis P. Hession was read on behalf of Jean. The document stated, “…in recognition of the amazing career and accomplishments of Jean Merrill, do hereby declare Saturday, February 11, 2006 as Jean Merrill Day in the City of Spokane, and encourage all our citizens to recognize and applaud her as a Distinguished Citizen of this great City.”

On behalf of the staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors of the Inland Northwest Blood Center, we commend and thank Jean Merrill for the forty remarkable years she devoted to her career and subsequently, her community!