Accreditation Program Sponsored by AABB (new facilities/new activities)

The Accreditation Program promotes the highest standard of care for patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking, transfusion medicine, cellular therapies, and relationship testing. The AABB supports high standards for medical, technical and administrative performance, scientific investigation, clinical application and education. The resulting Accreditation Program specifically assesses quality systems and operational areas for compliance with Standards. This independent assessment of operations assists in preparation for other inspections, and serves as a valuable tool to improve both compliance and operations. The program offers both educational and peer review opportunities. Accreditation is recognized at both a national and international level. The Accreditation Program itself is accredited by ISQua, the International Society for Quality.

For those interested in pursuing AABB Accreditation who would like more information regarding the program, please view the accreditation brochure.

*** PLEASE NOTE THAT A FACILITY MUST BE IN OPERATION FOR A MINIMUM OF 6 MONTHS (in the desired activity) BEFORE THE INITIAL ACCREDITATION PROCESS CAN BEGIN ***

There are two phases to achieving AABB accreditation for the first time. First, there is a self-assessment phase which is described in the initial accreditation process description (PDF). This is followed by phase two which is an on-site assessment described in the accreditation process description (PDF). The expectations of an AABB assessment are that all the standards are addressed in policies, processes and procedures (PPP's), and that PPP's are followed as written.

Information to start the initial accreditation process is provided below.

STEP ONE

Decide on which AABB Accreditation Activities to pursue and submit the information requested in a, b and c below to accreditation@aabb.org:

Locations Table (MS Word)
Additional information for activities listed after each bullet below:

ISBT 128 Labeling Questionnaire (PDF): blood banks, blood donor centers, transfusion facilities, and cell therapy facilities (i.e. cord blood, HPC, somatic cell)
Infectious Disease Testing Questionnaire (PDF): blood banks, blood donor centers, transfusion facilities, and cell therapy facilities (i.e. cord blood, HPC, somatic cell)
Cord Blood Questionnaire (MS Word ): cord blood facilities

Institutional Membership Application (PDF)

This information is used to determine a facility's eligibility to pursue AABB accreditation and define complex dues issues. A member of the AABB accreditation department will review the submissions and contact the interested party via email if the facility is not eligible for accreditation.

STEP TWO

The AABB Membership will send a membership dues invoice via email to the facility.

Information about AABB Institutional Membership pricing for the various activities for which accreditation is available is located online.
Note: A copy of the appropriate Standards is a benefit of membership. Extra copies may be purchased from the AABB Marketplace. Books on the Suggested References List may be helpful in preparing for accreditation. These publications may be purchased from the AABB Marketplace.

STEP THREE

Upon receipt of the email from the Membership Department, pay AABB Institutional Membership Dues.

Note: Annual dues cover from January 1 to December 31. To avoid losing months, plan to join early in the year or after September for the following year.

STEP FOUR

Upon receipt of membership dues a member of the Accreditation Department will send instructions for the performance of the self-assessment.

See the initial accreditation process description (PDF) for subsequent steps.
Once the initial accreditation process is completed, a facility moves to the on-site accreditation process described in the accreditation process description (PDF).
The accreditation process usually takes a minimum of nine months to a year to complete.

*** PLEASE NOTE THAT ADVERTIZING ANY RELATIONSHIP TO AABB IS NOT PERMITTED UNTIL THE FACILITY/NEW ACTIVITY BECOMES ACCREDITED AND RECEIVES THEIR AABB CERTIFICATE ***

Questions may be directed to Karen Whilden at 301-215-6549 or karen_w@aabb.org or the Accreditation Department at 301-215-6492 or accreditation@aabb.org.