Since its creation, AABB has been a force for positive change in the blood bank and transfusion services community and more recently in the cellular therapy, tissue storage and transplantation, and molecular testing arenas. For six decades, AABB has been a resource for the nation’s suppliers of blood and other biological products and has chronicled its activities in publications such as TRANSFUSION, the AABB Bulletin, Blood Bank Week, News Briefs, Weekly Report and AABB News. To help commemorate AABB’s 60 years of serving member needs, AABB News went to the archives to see how AABB members’ concerns have changed over the decades.

1947

Harry S. Truman was president, World War II was over, Broadway was bustling and Jackie Robinson had just become the first black man to play baseball in the major leagues. It was 1947 — a time of hope and endless possibilities in the United States, and in this climate, 118 individuals joined together to form the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).

1957

When AABB celebrated its 10th anniversary, nuclear proliferation was a major concern and many were worried about what would happen to the blood supply if a nuclear weapon were to be detonated. In the May 1957, issue of the AABB Bulletin, Robert Smith, MD, of the Federal Civil Defense Administration made the following prediction: “In the first three weeks following a thermonuclear attack, each 1 million casualties will require on the average 1.5 million units of whole blood, 675,000 of which will be required in the first 72 hours after an attack; 400,00 units of blood derivatives; and 1.1 million units of plasma volume expanders.”

1967

By 1967, AABB was 4,000 members strong. George J. Hummer, MD, marked AABB’s milestone in an AABB News Briefs report. “The association today is, in truth, the voice of ‘blood America.’ It is open to, and accommodates all who place such service above self — a wide spectrum of individuals and organizations, including theoretical immunohematological scientists, physicians, administrators, technologists. Herein resides AABB’s structural strength. But, lo, there is still room under our tent.”

1977, 1987

AABB was moving into the modern era in 1977 and 1987. In 1977, AABB President Richard Walker, MD, wrote about changes to the blood industry that were beginning to happen and would continue for decades. “Evidence of the growth of community blood donor centers is documented by the rapid increase of blood collection by these facilities and the concomitant closing of hospital donor facilities,” he said.

1997

Significant changes were made to Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services as AABB members began to move toward quality systems, becoming more interested in systems such as ISO: 9000. HIV was a major concern, as were a large variety of emerging infectious diseases.

TODAY

In 2007, AABB has nearly 10,000 institutional and individual members and continues to expand its role internationally and in the fields of transfusion medicine and cellular and related biological therapies. And, lo, there is still room under our tent.