Welsh Blood Service
The Welsh Blood Service is a division of Velindre University NHS Trust responsible for the collection of blood in Wales, and of the distribution of blood products to hospitals within the country, as well as other related functions.
History
The service was established in 1946. At that time the only test carried out was for syphilis. Since then more than 10 million units of blood have been donated in Wales.Operations
The Welsh Blood Service's roles include- the collection of voluntary, non-remunerated blood, platelet and Hematopoietic [stem cell transplantation|stem-cell donations] from the general public.
- distribution of blood products to the customer hospitals of Wales.
- provision of an antenatal screening service to hospitals.
- specialist laboratory services, assisting the investigation of complex serological problems.
- the , providing direct support to local providers of Renal and Stem Cell Transplant Services. It also operates a national panel of unrelated potential blood stem cell donors – the .
- Medical Consultant support to Hospital Blood Transfusion Committees, which includes support in achieving the objectives of WHC 137 Better Blood Transfusion. Clinical advice is provided to customer hospitals as required.
- hosting the UK NEQAS external quality assessment scheme for histocompatibility and immunogenetics and the, contribution to the maintenance of quality standards in the transfusion and transplantation community.