Stanford Blood Center launches organ and tissue donor testing for Donor Network West

Stanford Blood Center has begun providing infectious disease and immunohematology testing for Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks, starting July 1 with Donor Network West. The move expands the lab’s transplantation support across Northern California and Northern Nevada and aims to speed safe organ and tissue evaluation.

Why it matters: - Stanford Blood Center’s new donor testing service expands the lab’s role in transplantation medicine beyond blood products and into organ and tissue recovery. - The service supports the safe and efficient evaluation of lifesaving organs and tissues for transplant across Northern California and Northern Nevada. - Donor Network West serves more than 13 million people in the region. - Stanford Blood Center says it is the last remaining donor testing laboratory in California and one of only a small number nationwide positioned to support Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks.

What happened: - Stanford Blood Center launched organ and tissue donor testing services on July 1. - The lab is now providing testing for Donor Network West, the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization serving Northern California and Northern Nevada. - The expanded service covers Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks. - Stanford Blood Center also announced the launch of infectious disease and immunohematology testing for those donation partners.

The details: - Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks coordinate donation processes after a person’s death. - Those organizations work with donor hospitals, transplant centers and clinical laboratories to recover, evaluate and transplant organs and tissues. - Comprehensive laboratory testing is a critical step in the process and helps meet federal requirements. - Stanford Blood Center’s Donor Testing Laboratory provides infectious disease and immunohematology testing for blood donation, bone marrow transplantation, living organ donation and organ and tissue transplantation. - The center’s Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory provides compatibility testing and pre- and post-transplant monitoring for bone marrow and solid organ transplantation. - Stanford Blood Center’s Biologics program supports clinical research and emerging therapies. - Stanford Blood Center was founded in 1978 and serves healthcare organizations, researchers and biotechnology companies in the Bay Area and beyond. - Stanford Blood Center also provides the region’s blood supply. - The lab offers routine, complex and customized testing services supporting transfusion medicine, transplantation, research and advanced therapies. - More information is available at SBC Labs. - SBC also lists ordering details for its lab services, including 24/7 donor testing support at (650) 725-2491 and sbc-hospital-services@stanford.edu.

Between the lines: - The launch deepens Stanford Blood Center’s position in the transplant supply chain at a time when donor testing capacity is a specialized and limited resource. - The announcement frames the new service as both an operational expansion and a regional access play for transplant-related testing. - The addition also extends SBC’s support across the full continuum of care, from donation to transplantation.

What's next: - Stanford Blood Center is likely to use the new service to broaden its transplant-related laboratory work with additional Organ Procurement Organizations and Tissue Banks. - The center is continuing to promote its clinical and research ordering channels at sbclabs.org/ordering. - SBC says its broader mission remains support for transfusion and transplantation medicine, along with research and therapeutics.