SunCoast Blood Bank Joins Testing Cooperative
Nine Centers Take Control of Testing Needs
Sarasota, FL – SunCoast Blood Bank has joined the National Blood Testing Cooperative (NBTC), a new blood testing cooperative organization created by nine non-profit blood centers throughout the country, to allow community-based blood centers to take control of their blood testing needs. NBTC provides high-quality testing services, at cost, to its owner-members by eliminating unnecessary profit-mark-ups that large testing entities charge. Testing services are set to begin by end of year, 2019.
NBTC is the first cooperative formed specifically for blood testing needs. “Providing the safest blood products for hospitals and patients is the top priority for all blood centers. Being part of this cooperative makes sense for SunCoast because we understand the critical nature of testing and the vital role it plays in our industry,” said Scott Bush, CEO of SunCoast Blood Bank.
The cooperative also addresses the need to combat the rising costs associated with keeping the blood supply safe. Every unit of blood, platelets and plasma collected will be tested for infectious disease, including Chagas and Zika. “As a nonprofit organization, we must be accountable and transparent regarding our expenses. The cost of testing is our single largest operational expense and our affiliation with NBTC will allow SunCoast to have more control of the most essential part of our operation,” said Bush.
“Industry consolidation, particularly in the area of blood testing, creates a potential long-term economic concern for the free-market blood service industry. For the benefit of the entire industry, it is important to maintain healthy competition, and this innovative joint venture of blood centers allows for individual ownership of their testing labs but enables them to receive the economic benefits generally provided to large-scale operations” said Dr. Judson Edwards, Dean of Sorrell College of Business and Associate Professor of Economics at Troy University, who studies the economics of the blood service industry.
The founding blood center owners of NBTC are: Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, Springfield MO; Kentucky Blood Center, Lexington KY; Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, Davenport IA; LifeServe Blood Center, Des Moines IA; LifeShare Blood Center, Shreveport LA; LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, Gainesville FL; Stanford Blood Center, Palo Alto CA; Suncoast Blood Bank, Sarasota FL and The Blood Center, New Orleans LA.
About SunCoast – SunCoast Blood Bank is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization providing a reliable supply of safe blood products and services to our community for 69 years. SCBB provides 100 percent of the blood products and services for Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, Manatee Memorial Hospital, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Complex Care Hospital of Ridgelake, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota, North Port Emergency Room, Fawcett Memorial Hospital of Port Charlotte, Englewood Community Hospital and DeSoto Memorial Hospital. Recognized for its outstanding service the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce honored SCBB as the 2017 Non-profit of the Year. SCBB participates in cancer treatment programs, research and provides therapeutic services at the hospitals it serves. For SCBB donor locations and more information, visit www.scbb.org or call 1-866-97-BLOOD.
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