About LifeShare Blood Centers

In 1942 civic-minded residents who realized a blood bank was needed for emergencies created by WWII founded the Shreveport Memorial Blood Bank. A project endorsed and approved by the Shreveport Medical Society and the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. During the 70 years since its inception, the blood bank has had different names to reflect its growth. In 1996 the name changed to LifeShare Blood Centers as it remains today.

The mission of LifeShare Blood Centers is to provide quality blood, blood components, and related services for use by patients on an efficient, cost-effective manner. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization governed by a Board of Trustees and employs approximately 525 full- and part-time positions.

LifeShare Blood Centers is regulated and licensed by U.S. Food & Drug Administration and accredited by AABB, a member of the American Rare Donor Program and an affiliate of the National Marrow Donor Program.

LifeShare has ten fixed sites and 21 mobile donor coaches in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Supplying approximately 200,000 blood components a year to more than 117 medical facilities, its regular service area covers 79 counties and parishes with more than 3.7 million people. During that last year, more than 100,000 people donated blood in the communities LifeShare serves.

LifeShare Blood Centers collects blood from volunteers through whole blood donation and apheresis procedures for select blood components (red cells, plasma and platelets). LifeShare also provides patient treatment procedures such as therapeutic apheresis and mononuclear cell collection, as prescribed by a physician.

The John J. Moulds Immunohematology Reference Laboratory and

Scientific Support Services

The Immunohematology Reference Laboratory and Scientific Support Services were dedicated in 2011 in recognition of Moulds' numerous contributions to the science of blood banking.

The Scientific Support Services at LifeShare Blood Centers provides consulting to medical facilities and other blood centers utilizing specialized testing methods to resolve the most difficult problems in blood compatibility for specific recipients. The lab has garnered international recognition for its cutting edge techniques, some of which can only be performed by fewer than five laboratories in the nation.

The John J. Moulds Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (IRL) is one of only 61 AABB accredited IRLs in the country and a member of the American Rare Donor Program. Established as a reference lab in the 1970s, currently it is one of the leading suppliers of rare blood in the nation with an internationally known rare red cell collection and ability to match and supply compatible blood for patients with rare antibodies. The IRL is staffed with licensed medical technologists and Specialists in Blood Banking.

American Rare Donor Program

After becoming a member in 2006, LifeShare has supplied more than 1,400 rare units of blood primarily to patients nationwide and even internationally through the American Rare Donor Program. The program, established in 1988, tracks and organizes rare donor information in an effort to better meet the needs of patients with rare blood types. The database is populated by more than 80 member organizations and can be searched to locate donors so that patients with rare blood types can receive compatible blood.

National Marrow Registry

LifeShare Blood Centers is an affiliate of the National Marrow Donor Program through a partnership with the Gulf Coast Bone Marrow Program. LifeShare recruits and registers individuals for the national Be The Match marrow registry and conducts confirmatory testing on those who have been identified as potential donors. More information about the National Marrow Donor Program can be found at www.BeTheMatch.org.

Resource Sharing

Realizing that blood is a living tissue with a limited shelf life, a coalition of blood centers organized a resource sharing program to utilize every unit of blood. This "good neighbor policy" was adopted by the LifeShare Board of Trustees in 1991. LifeShare provides blood for the needs of patients in its local service area first. After local needs are met, LifeShare reviews opportunities to share with others. Resource sharing allows for every unit to benefit someone and also maintain a lower processing fee.