The AABB is a United States-based professional body and standards organization that was founded in 1947 as the American Association of Blood Banks.[1] The organization is now international with members in 80 countries and has taken on a broader scope to include all of transfusion medicine as well as cellular therapies, specifically ones based on hematopoietic stem cells. In 2005 the organization changed its name to AABB to reflect the changes in scope and operations.[2]
The AABB works closely with the US Food and Drug Administration and provides technical input into the development of blood regulations for the US. While membership is not a regulatory requirement, virtually all major blood banks in the United States are accredited by the AABB. More than 80 percent of hospital transfusion services and similar facilities in the US are members.[1] Accreditation by AABB meets the requirements of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) for blood bank, transfusion service, and immunohematology reference laboratory operations.[3]
The organization publishes a newsletter as well as a research journal named Transfusion, which is published through Blackwell Publishing.[4] Every three years the AABB publishes a Technical Manual; as of 2011 it is in its seventeenth edition. The organization also publishes a variety of other blood banking related materials, including the standards that it uses to accredit members.
Since 1953, the organization has operated a National Blood Exchange to facilitate transfers of blood between blood banks during shortages or when rare blood types are required.
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