Red Cross Blood Service

What Red Cross Blood Service does

Red Cross Blood Service is the Biomedical Services division of The American National Red Cross, a private nonprofit humanitarian organization chartered by Congress in 1900. It is the single largest provider of blood products in the United States, supplying approximately 6.5 million blood products (Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma, Cryoprecipitated AHF, Low Titer O Whole Blood, and INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex) each year to hospitals and healthcare systems nationwide. The division collects blood through approximately 150,000 community blood drives hosted in partnership with 60,000 organizations, drawing from a base of roughly 3.5 million annual donors, with donor-facing digital channels including the Blood Donor App (over 1 million downloads) and the RapidPass online pre-screening system.

The underlying technology stack centers on national laboratory operations that perform immunohematology, histocompatibility, molecular blood group and platelet genotyping, neutrophil antibody testing, and infectious disease screening (including Babesia NAT, West Nile Virus NAT, and HIV/HCV/HBV multiplex NAT). Specialty units include the National Reference Laboratory for Blood Group Serology, the American Rare Donor Program (a centralized rare-donor database co-managed with AABB), the Infectious Disease Blood Repository (marker-positive samples for research), a Diagnostic Manufacturing unit that produces reagents for external CLIA-certified labs, and a DNA/Relationship Testing laboratory in Portland, Oregon. The business model is hybrid: nonprofit, funded through hospital blood product sales, laboratory service fees, donor financial contributions, and government contracts, with hospital partnership agreements functioning as recurring supply relationships, professional-services revenue from laboratory testing, and data-monetization revenue from research sample sales through the CONNECT platform.

Name

Red Cross Blood Service

Legal name

The American National Red Cross

Website

https://redcrossblood.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1881

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Red Cross Blood Service is the Biomedical Services division of the American Red Cross and the single largest provider of blood products in the United States, supplying ~6.5 million units annually to hospitals from 3.5 million donors across 150,000 community blood drives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blood Products Supply and Transfusion Medicine Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (Blood Bank) (HLAFAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (HLAHAAAH), Hematology & Coagulation Laboratories (HLAFAMAC), Hematology & Coagulation Diagnostics (HLAHAAAB)

Keywords

• Blood products supply
• Blood donation services
• Immunohematology testing
• Specialty laboratory services
• Hospital transfusion support

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Blood Products Supply: Supply of blood products including Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma, Cryoprecipitated AHF, and Low Titer O Whole Blood to hospitals under partnership agreements. The Red Cross is the single largest provider of blood products in the United States, supplying approximately 6.5 million blood products each year.
2. Laboratory Testing Services: Comprehensive testing services for donors, collected blood, and patients requiring transfusion or transplantation services. Includes specialized testing, consultation, and product recommendations through clinical consultations with expert laboratory staff.
3. Hospital Partnerships: Strategic partnerships with hospitals providing access to blood products, testing services, continuing education (SUCCESS Online Education), and consultation on transfusion medicine, product usage, and blood management.
4. Blood Sample Sales for Research: Sales of marker-positive blood samples (HIV, HCV, HBV, WNV, HTLV, T. cruzi, Babesia, Syphilis) for research purposes through CONNECT ordering system.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The American Red Cross Blood Service collects, tests, manufactures, and distributes blood products — including Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma, Cryoprecipitated AHF, Low Titer O Whole Blood, and INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex — to hospitals and healthcare systems across the United States. In parallel, the organization provides specialized laboratory testing services such as immunohematology, histocompatibility, molecular blood group genotyping, neutrophil services, DNA/relationship testing, and diagnostic reagent manufacturing, supported by the American Rare Donor Program for rare antigen matching.

Product overview

The American Red Cross Blood Service operates as a comprehensive blood products and services organization, functioning as the single largest provider of blood products in the United States. The portfolio includes five core blood products (Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma, Cryoprecipitate, and Low Titer O Whole Blood) plus the INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex. Beyond blood products, the organization offers extensive laboratory testing services including Immunohematology Reference, Histocompatibility, Molecular Blood Group/Platelet Genotyping, Specialized Testing, and Neutrophil Services through specialized national laboratories. Additional offerings include DNA/Relationship Testing, Diagnostic Manufacturing, Clinical Apheresis, Cell & Gene Therapy Solutions, and the American Rare Donor Program for rare blood types. Digital offerings include the Blood Donor App, RapidPass pre-donation system, and CONNECT Online Ordering platforms. The organization supplies approximately 6.5 million blood products annually to hospitals, partnering with around 60,000 organizations through approximately 150,000 annual blood drives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Biomedical Services: Division responsible for blood collection, testing, and distribution operations
• RapidPass
• Power Red
• SUCCESS Online Education
• CONNECT
• Immunohematology Journal

Products and services

• Red Blood Cells Red blood cell products supplied to hospitals for transfusion therapy, including phenotype-matched units for sickle cell patients.
• Platelets Platelet concentrates for patients requiring transfusion support, including pathogen-reduced platelet supply.
• Plasma Plasma products for transfusion and therapeutic uses, supplied to hospitals nationwide.
• Cryoprecipitated AHF (Cryo) Cryoprecipitate containing clotting factors for patients with coagulation deficiencies.
• Low Titer O Whole Blood (LTOWB) Whole blood product with low titer anti-A and anti-B antibodies, primarily used for trauma and hemorrhage patients.
• INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex (IFC) A fibrinogen replacement product for treating fibrinogen deficiency, offering consistent quality, extended shelf life, and improved logistics.
• Laboratory Testing Services Comprehensive testing services for donors and patients including customized patient testing, product recommendations, and clinical consultations with expert laboratory staff.
• Immunohematology Reference Services Red blood cell antibody identification, DAT-negative hemolytic anemia investigation, Donath-Landsteiner test, and cold agglutinin screening.
• Histocompatibility Services HLA-matched platelet support, donor hematopoietic cell transplant support, HLA antibody screening, and low/high resolution HLA typing.
• Molecular Blood Group and Platelet Genotyping Services Human erythrocyte antigen (HEA) panel, D variant identification, and human platelet antigen (HPA) genotyping services.
• Specialized Testing Services Platelet transfusion refractoriness panels, platelet crossmatching, immune thrombocytopenia panels, and FNAIT investigation and monitoring.
• Neutrophil Services Neutrophil antibody identification, MAINA testing, HNA genotyping, and neutrophil antibody screening.
• National Reference Laboratory for Blood Group Serology (NRLBGS) Antibody investigations, RBC phenotyping, crossmatching, and matched RBC units for sickle cell patients and antigen-negative blood products.
• DNA and Relationship Testing Court-admissible DNA and relationship testing offered for over 25 years from the Portland, Oregon laboratory for individuals, healthcare providers, legal entities, and government agencies.
• Diagnostic Manufacturing Development and manufacture of diagnostic reagents used in laboratories nationwide, available to CLIA-certified laboratory partners.
• American Rare Donor Program (ARDP) Program ensuring rare blood availability for patients, utilizing an extensive network and centralized database of rare donors to locate rare and Rh allele-matched blood products worldwide.
• Clinical Apheresis Services Therapeutic apheresis services for patients requiring removal or exchange of blood components.
• Cell & Gene Therapy Solutions Specialized services supporting emerging cell and gene therapy treatments and blood product compatibility.
• Blood Donor App Mobile application enabling donors to schedule appointments, manage donations, access RapidPass, and view donation history.
• RapidPass Online pre-donation health history questionnaire system allowing donors to complete pre-reading before visiting blood drive locations.
• SUCCESS Online Education Continuing education platform offering readily accessible, current information on blood products, services, and related topics for hospital partners.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cerus CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026The German Red Cross Blood Donation Service Baden-Württemberg – Hessen initiated the INITIATE study in collaboration with Cerus to evaluate the safety and operational integration of pathogen-inactivated platelet concentrates using the INTERCEPT Blood System in routine clinical practice in Germany. The study aims to assess safety profile, feasibility of system-wide adoption, and operational impacts in hospitals across regions served by the blood services.
• American Rare Donor Program (ARDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARDP was established as a collaboration between AABB and the American Red Cross. The program utilizes an extensive network and large, centralized database of rare donors to locate rare and Rh allele-matched blood products worldwide. American Red Cross supports ARDP by submitting donor candidates for the program.
• Vitalant Blood CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican Red Cross collaborating with Vitalant Blood Center and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study transmission and health impact of respiratory viruses in the United States through donor surveys and health monitoring.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with CDC on the Transfusion Transmissible Infections Monitoring System (TTIMS) which proactively monitors the U.S. blood supply for infections like HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis. TTIMS combines data from four US blood collection organizations representing approximately 60% of all U.S. donations.
• 10 Sickle Cell Treatment CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican Red Cross partnering with medical providers at 10 sickle cell treatment centers across the United States for a study characterizing sickle cell trait in individuals to improve treatments for people living with sickle cell trait. Participation involves in-person visits for testing and additional lab collection.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Octapharma: Global plasma fractionator producing plasma-derived therapies from source plasma. Operates an adjacent model of plasma collection and biologic production with some overlap in plasma supply markets.
• Grifols: Global plasma-derived therapies company that also supplies blood-typing reagents and NAT screening assays (including the Babesia and Ultrio assays used by the Red Cross), making it both a supplier and an adjacent player in blood banking inputs.

Others

• Haemonetics: Supplier of blood component collection and processing equipment, including apheresis devices used in platelet and plasma collection, making it an enabling technology provider to the Red Cross's collection operations.
• Cerus Corporation: Developer of the INTERCEPT Blood System for pathogen reduction of platelets and plasma. The Red Cross is a direct customer and has partnered with the German Red Cross on the INITIATE study, making Cerus a key technology partner adjacent to the core business.

Regional players

• NHS Blood and Transplant: UK national blood and transplant service operating a similar end-to-end model of collection, testing, and hospital supply, including specialized services such as stem cell and cord blood banking.
• Canadian Blood Services: National, nonprofit blood operator in Canada with the same end-to-end model of donor recruitment, collection, testing, and hospital distribution — a strong structural peer operating in a different geography.

Direct peers

• Vitalant: One of the largest US blood banks and a direct competitor in collecting, testing, and distributing blood products to hospitals. The two organizations also partner through TTIMS with the CDC, making them the closest functional peer in the US market.
• San Diego Blood Bank: Community-based blood center offering comparable blood collection, component preparation, and specialized laboratory services including immunohematology reference work and cell therapy support.
• New York Blood Center: Independent, large-scale community blood center serving the greater New York region with comparable collection, testing, and hospital supply operations, including rare donor and immunohematology reference services.
• OneBlood: Large regional blood center serving the Southeastern US with hospital blood supply, specialty laboratory services, and donor recruitment programs directly comparable to Red Cross operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RedCrossBlood
• Facebookfacebook.com/redcrossblood
• Instagraminstagram.com/redcrossblood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-cross-blood-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Red Cross Blood Service