Biomedical Education Southern California Community

Critical Need for Type O Donors

The American Red Cross has a critical shortage of type O blood and urges type O donors to give now to ensure blood is available for patients facing trauma and other life-threatening situations. All other blood types are also needed at this time.

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Southern California Community Education

Community Education for the American Red Cross Southern California Blood Services Region includes the weekly Blood Transfusion Medicine lecture series which is aimed towards professionals involved in the Transfusion Medicine department, particularly hospital blood bank employees. Lectures are held at the blood center every Wednesday morning from 8:30 to 10:30, and offer 2.0 Contact Hours of continuing education for California Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) licenses. Contact hours can also be applied to California Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) license renewal.

We also offer all day Transfusion Medicine Seminars throughout the year at different locations in the southland. A variety of topics are presented including current issues in hospitals, blood centers, and research environments. Continuing education credit is offered.

For those people desiring advanced education in Transfusion Medicine, Community Education offers the Specialist in Blood Bank Technology and Transfusion Medicine (SBBT/TM) Program. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the AABB. This is a year long program offering graduate level education. Graduates of the program are awarded a certificate, which allows them to sit for the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) examination.

Blood Transfusion Medicine Lecture Series

This is a weekly lecture series of ongoing lectures given at the American Red Cross blood center in Pomona, California. It covers current transfusion theory and practices in transfusion medicine. The content follows the syllabus required for the ASCP SBB exam. Each lecture is approved for 2.0 contact hours of continuing education for California Clinical Laboratory Scientist and Personnel licenses (accrediting agency number 0015). Upon completion of each lecture, the participant should be able to describe key concepts presented by the speaker and be familiar with the specific objectives distributed with the lecture handout.

Registration is OPEN.

All Day Seminar in Transfusion Medicine

This full day seminar provides a wealth of information by medical, scientific and laboratory professionals. The all day seminars are approved for continuing education for California Clinical Laboratory Scientist and Personnel licenses (accrediting agency number 0015). Employees of hospitals with Red Cross as the primary blood vendor are admitted at no charge and are given preference in registration. Participation is often limited to 150 attendees due to space limitations.

The next All Day Seminar is scheduled for Spring 2018

Spring Seminar will be held Thursday May 17,2018.

Registration is OPEN.

Specialist in Blood Bank Technology and Transfusion Medicine (SBBT/TM) Program

Located at the American Red Cross blood center in Pomona, California this one year program incorporates all aspects of blood center operations. The American Red Cross SBB Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Specialist in Blood Bank Technology Schools, sponsored by the AABB (www.aabb.org). A certificate is awarded to graduates of the program, which allows them to take the Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) examination given by ASCP (American Society of Clinical Pathology).