Magen David Adom’s Blood Services collects and tests over 300,000 units of blood annually – that’s around 95% of what is required nationally.
Based at Tel Hashomer (pic left), a 15-minute drive from Tel Aviv and 45 minutes from Jerusalem, the blood bank, laboratories and their 200 personnel are responsible for:

• organising “Blood Drives”, recruiting volunteer, non-remunerated blood donors
• preparing routine and modified blood components
• testing all units for blood groups, Red Blood Cell antibody screening and infectious disease markers
• storing and maintaining the country’s blood inventory
• shipping daily supplies to hospital blood banks and to the Israel Defence Forces

90% of all units are collected during mobile blood drives, conducted daily, nationwide using 24 mobiles and 12 self-contained units. The balance (10%) are collected in fixed-site donor rooms, located in MDA Emergency Medical stations. Volunteer blood donors are offered MDA Blood Insurance, which grants the donor and his/her immediate family a “blood credit” for one year following the donation.

DID YOU KNOW that blood components have a “shelf-life”, even when stored appropriately?

Red Blood Cells: 35-42 days at 1-6°c
Platelets: 5 days at 22°c
Plasma: 12 months at -20°c

That is yet another reason that the need for blood is constant!
DID YOU ALSO KNOW that MDA Blood Services undertakes the following additional activities:

• maintains a national blood group reference laboratory for rare blood
• maintains the National Public Cord Blood Bank
• produces macrophage suspension for the treatment of chronic wounds
• teaches Transfusion Medicine
• initiates Transfusion Medicine policies?

MDA’s Cord Blood Bank (CBB) Project

in collaboration with leading Israeli medical centres, is aimed at building a public facility which will store a large inventory of Stem Cell units, suitable for Bone Marrow Transplantation (mainly for under-represented minorities) so as to increase the chances of patients in Israel and worldwide to
undergo Stem Cell Transplantation.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

By 2030, Israel’s population is predicted to exceed 10.5 million and so the demand on MDA’s Blood Services will increase accordingly. This vital, national facility needs to be housed in larger, modern and SECURE premises.

Welcome to Project 2030

aimed at building a blood bank, laboratories and research facility, within the next few years, which will be able to cope with Israel’s demand on its services through to the year 2030.

Only administration and reception will be housed above-ground in the new premises. Everything else – blood storage, testing, laboratories and despatch – will be UNDERGROUND, in order to maintain full functionality during times of national emergency – be they natural disasters, terrorist attacks or war.

This is a MAJOR project – and MDA donors, worldwide, will be needed to make it happen. If you are interested in contributing to this vital undertaking, please call the MDA Australia office in Melbourne on (03) 9272 5633 or in Sydney on (02) 9358 2521, and we will be happy to provide you with more information.