Blood Systems announced that its 10 blood center brands including United Blood Services will unite as one
cohesive brand under the new name Vitalant. As one of the nation’s oldest and
largest comprehensive transfusion medicine organizations serving local
communities across 40 states including Louisiana, Vitalant’s 127 nationwide
donation centers and 30,000 mobile blood drives welcome more than 780,000
donors who supply 1.8 million donations per year.
“Our organization has grown to encompass blood donation centers and specialty
services from coast to coast. As transfusion medicine leaders, we embrace this
opportunity to combine our innovative capabilities,” said Vitalant President and CEO
Dave Green. “We invite the public to join us in generating more vital donations to
transform even more lives in communities across the United States.”
Unifying the combined capabilities and national presence of the organization’s many
brands, Vitalant brings together the benefits of a cohesive centralized support
structure and enhanced research opportunities to advance transfusion care and
reach people most in need. It also reflects a commitment to donors to ensure a
consistent and seamless experience across all centers and blood drives.
The 10 donation center brands that come together collectively under the name
Vitalant are: Blood Centers of the Pacific, BloodSource, Bonfils Blood Center,
Central Blood Bank, Community Blood Services, Inland Northwest Blood Center,
Lifeblood, LifeShare, LifeSource and United Blood Services, in addition to the
umbrella organization Blood Systems including its research institute and specialty
laboratory. Vitalant’s national headquarters is in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“United Blood Services has a more than 50-year history as a major blood center
serving the state of Louisiana,” said Danny Garrick, president of Vitalant operations
in the Southeast. “We remain committed to the communities with the same people
and purpose you’ve come to expect.”
Vitalant supports nearly 1,000 hospitals and health care entities throughout the
United States, impacting millions of lives. In addition to blood products, Vitalant
offers hospital partners transfusion services, medical consulting, quality guidance,
ongoing education, research and more.
There is a constant need for blood – in fact, nearly 5,000 blood donations are
needed each day to meet the needs of people throughout the country. At least 250
donations are needed each day to meet the needs of people throughout south
Louisiana. Statistics show that nearly 60 percent of blood donations come from
people over 40, and nearly 45 percent come from people older than 50. Vitalant
looks to inspire the next generation of blood donors, while building lasting
relationships with people of all ages.
“Vitalant’s purpose is to help people realize their life-transforming potential,” said
Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. Ron Waeckerlin. “A name change does not
change our commitment to the communities we serve in south Louisiana or the
people who count on us. In fact, our national presence allows us to effectively tap
into our network to ensure donations reach the people who need it most.”
The name Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) embodies something vital and full of life, and is
directly connected to the organization’s vision to create life-transforming outcomes
for nationwide communities.
Vitalant will maintain the same community-based staff in every donation center, and
donors will experience the personal, professional and comfortable level of service
they have come to trust and expect. In south Louisiana, Vitalant has three donation
centers and hosts up to an average of 100 blood drives every month. Visit the
Lafayette donor center at 1503 Bertrand Drive, or visit vitalant.org to find a mobile
blood drive near you.
