Blood Bank of Hawaii

What Blood Bank of Hawaii does

Blood Bank of Hawaii (BBH) is a Hawaii-licensed not-for-profit community blood center founded in 1941 and headquartered in Honolulu. It is the sole supplier of blood products to all 18 hospitals across the State of Hawaii, operating fixed donor centers (Young Street, Dillingham, Waikele), two mobile bloodmobiles on Oahu, and scheduled Neighbor Island drives on Maui, Kauai, Hilo, and Kona every eight weeks. The organization collects, processes, tests (with 13 safety tests per unit), stores, and distributes whole blood and its components — red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and specialty modified products (leukoreduced, washed, deglycerolized, CMV-seronegative, irradiated) — and is nationally recognized for rare Polynesian blood phenotypes such as Jk3-negative.

The core technology platform centers on apheresis-based collection under the MAX My Donation program, which uses automated cell-separator machines to extract targeted blood components (Red, Plasma, Platelets, Combo) and return uncollected components to the donor, optimizing donation yield by blood type, body type, and hospital demand. BBH also operates an Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (IRL) providing red cell serological problem-solving, antigen-negative blood sourcing, HLA-compatible platelet matching, and rare phenotype unit searches. The organization maintains FDA, AABB, SOH CLIA, CMS CLIA, and ICBBA certifications and operates a 24/7 physician on-call consultation service for hospital partners.

As a non-profit, BBH recovers costs — rather than charging for blood itself — through hospital service fees covering donor recruitment, collection, processing, testing, storage, and distribution. Secondary revenue and contribution streams include therapeutic phlebotomy services, technical advisory committee support, clinical education, charitable fundraising (including a current capital campaign for the new Kapolei headquarters), and corporate partnerships with Hawaiian Airlines, Matson, and the Hawaii Community Foundation. The organization's GTM motion is community-led, relying on volunteer donors reached through fixed centers, mobile drives, Neighbor Island scheduled events, High School Lifesaver Clubs, and corporate blood drive coordinators.

Name

Blood Bank of Hawaii

Legal name

Blood Bank of Hawaii

Website

https://bbh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blood Bank of Hawaii is a non-profit community blood center founded in 1941 and the sole supplier of blood products and transfusion medicine services to all 18 hospitals across Hawaii, operating fixed donor centers, mobile blood drives, and Neighbor Island collection programs statewide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Blood Banking Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (Blood Bank) (HLAFAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Blood banking services
• Blood product distribution
• Transfusion medicine
• Apheresis donation
• Community blood center

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Blood Product Distribution to Hospitals: As a non-profit community blood center, BBH recovers costs associated with donor recruitment, blood collection, processing, testing, storage, preparation, and distribution. The organization supplies all 18 hospitals in Hawaii with blood products and related transfusion services.
2. Hospital Services: BBH provides specialized hospital services including therapeutic phlebotomy, medical consultation (24/7 physician on-call), technical advisory committee support, and clinical education for healthcare professionals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Blood Bank of Hawaii is Hawaii's sole non-profit community blood center, collecting whole blood from volunteer donors through fixed centers, mobile bloodmobiles, and Neighbor Island drives. The organization processes, tests, stores, and distributes blood components (red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and specialty modified products including leukoreduced, washed, deglycerolized, CMV-seronegative, and irradiated units) to all 18 hospitals in Hawaii, recovering only the costs of recruitment, collection, processing, testing, storage, and distribution.

Product overview

Blood Bank of Hawaii is Hawaii's sole community blood center, operating as a unified product-and-service portfolio organized around blood collection, processing, testing, and distribution. The core offering is whole blood and its components — red blood cells, platelets, and plasma — all available in multiple modified forms (leukoreduced, washed, deglycerolized, CMV-seronegative, irradiated). The flagship donor-facing program is MAX My Donation, an apheresis-based system that matches donors to specific component donations (MAX Red, MAX Plasma, MAX Platelets, MAX Combo) based on blood type and hospital demand. Hospital partners receive a suite of transfusion medicine services including an Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (IRL) for serological problem-solving and HLA-compatible platelet matching, therapeutic phlebotomy, 24/7 medical consultation, and a Technical Advisory Committee. Community engagement programs (Lifesaver Clubs, High School Lifesaver Clubs, volunteer program) and education services round out the offering. The organization also operates the new Kapolei Headquarters as a community-centered facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MAX My Donation: A program allowing donors to maximize their donation impact by giving specific blood components (platelets, plasma, or red blood cells) based on their blood type, body type, and hospital demand.
• Lifesaver Clubs
• High School Lifesaver Clubs

Products and services

• Blood Components (Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma) Whole blood and its separated components — including whole blood RBC AS-1, apheresis RBC AS-1, apheresis platelets, COVID-19 convalescent plasma, frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate-reduced frozen plasma, Pedi-Pak frozen plasma, and single and pooled cryoprecipitate — collected, processed, tested, and distributed for hospital transfusion use.
• Specialty Blood Products (Leukoreduced, Washed, Deglycerolized, CMV-seronegative, Irradiated) Modified blood components including leukoreduced red cells and platelets, washed platelets (2-hour processing), deglycerolized red cells (3-hour processing), CMV-seronegative products, and irradiated products, prepared for hospital transfusion medicine use.
• MAX My Donation Apheresis-based donation program for volunteer donors that selectively collects MAX Red, MAX Plasma, MAX Platelets, or MAX Combo using automated collection technology matched to donor blood type and hospital demand.
• Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (IRL) Services Specialized testing and consultation for hospital partners covering red blood cell serological problem solving, antigen-negative blood acquisition, rare phenotype unit searches, and HLA-compatible platelet matching for patients refractory to platelet transfusions.
• Therapeutic Phlebotomy Physician-ordered blood removal service using a dedicated request and consent form process for patients with hematological diseases, red cell disorders, hereditary hemochromatosis, and secondary polycythemia.
• Medical Consultation & Technical Advisory 24/7 physician-on-call consultation for Hawaii physicians and hospitals to resolve transfusion problems and identify optimal blood products, plus a Technical Advisory Committee forum for service and product delivery discussion.
• Lifesaver Clubs Blood drive coordination program providing employers, schools, and community organizations with educational materials, recruitment tools, and the Blood Drop Thermometer goal-tracking recognition system.
• High School Lifesaver Clubs High school student blood donation clubs with donor recognition (pins, cords), a $500 summer blood drive coordination scholarship, and a phlebotomy training program at Farrington High School modeled after physician residency programs.
• Education Services Clinical education for healthcare professionals including workshops, lectures, seminars, facility tours, and advisory committee meetings to advance transfusion medicine knowledge in Hawaii's medical community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200 donors needed daily to sustain Hawaii's blood supply
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hawaiian Airlines Cargo TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawaiian Air Cargo team assists BBH in shipping blood supplies to Neighbor Islands. During the August 2023 storm crisis, the cargo team ensured supplies reached Maui blood drives despite challenging conditions. The partnership is critical for BBH's island-wide distribution network.
• MatsonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMatson Navigation Company provides corporate support to BBH as a community partner. BBH acknowledged Matson publicly on social media for being a great supporter of their mission and community health initiatives.
• Hawaiian AirlinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHawaiian Airlines partners with BBH through the HawaiianMiles Charities Program, allowing donors to support BBH by contributing frequent flyer miles. This partnership helps raise awareness and provides a loyalty incentive for blood donations.
• Hawaii Community FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBH partners with Hawaii Community Foundation's Stronger Hawaii Fund. For each blood donation made, BBH contributes to the fund supporting those affected by Kona Low storms, combining disaster relief with blood donation awareness.
• America's Blood Centers (ABC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBH is a member of America's Blood Centers, the nation's largest network of community-based blood programs. This membership provides access to best practices, shared resources, and national coordination for blood supply management.
• Farrington High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBH operates a Phlebotomy Training Program at Farrington High School, modeled after physician residency programs. Students receive hands-on training and are paid as BBH trainee employees during the Spring semester. Some graduates continue employment with BBH after graduation. CEO Kim-Anh Nguyen stated: 'By investing in students today, we are investing in Hawaii's healthcare workforce of tomorrow.'

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Red Cross Blood Services: The largest blood collector in the US, operating a national network of donation centers. Directly comparable to BBH as a non-profit community blood supplier providing whole blood, apheresis components, and reference lab services to hospitals.

Direct peers

• Vitalant: A large non-profit blood center operating across multiple US states. Directly comparable to BBH as a community-based non-profit collecting, processing, testing, and distributing blood and apheresis components to hospital partners.
• OneBlood: A non-profit community blood center serving hospitals in the southeastern United States. Comparable to BBH in mission, non-profit structure, fixed donor centers plus mobile drives, and full reference lab services.
• New York Blood Center: A large non-profit blood center serving hospitals across the northeastern US. Comparable to BBH in operating community blood collection with apheresis programs, rare blood registries, and specialized immunohematology reference lab services.
• Carter BloodCare: A Texas-based non-profit community blood center providing blood products to regional hospitals. Comparable to BBH in non-profit community blood center model, apheresis collection, mobile drives, and clinical education services to hospitals.
• Stanford Blood Center: A hospital-affiliated blood center in Northern California collecting and supplying blood products to area hospitals. Comparable to BBH as a regional blood collector with apheresis capabilities and special immunohematology services.
• San Diego Blood Bank: A non-profit regional blood bank serving San Diego County hospitals. Comparable to BBH as a community blood center with FDA licensing, apheresis collection, and a volunteer-donor base serving a defined geographic territory.
• Memorial Blood Centers: A Minnesota-based non-profit community blood center supplying regional hospitals. Comparable to BBH in non-profit model, full blood component product line, apheresis programs, and reference lab services for hospitals.

Others

• America's Blood Centers: The national trade association of community blood centers of which BBH is a member. Comparable as the umbrella network providing BBH access to shared resources, best practices, and national coordination of blood supply management.

Emerging players

• BioLife Plasma Services: A commercial plasma collection network (now part of Takeda) operating donor centers across the US. Comparable to BBH in donor-center-based plasma collection, though commercially rather than non-profit oriented and focused exclusively on source plasma for plasma-derived therapies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/bloodbankhawaii
• Facebookfacebook.com/BloodBankHawaii
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blood-bank-of-hawaii
• Instagraminstagram.com/bloodbankhawaii
• Xx.com/BloodBankHawaii

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Blood Bank of Hawaii