Changes to the 35th Edition of Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (26EL-608)

Please note: AABB reserves the right to make updates to this program.

• Educational Track: Quality Education
• Topics: Blood Donation & Collection, Patient Transfusion
• Intended Audience: CEOs, CFOs, COOs, Directors, Donor Recruitment Staff, Hospital Blood Banks, Hospitals, Immunohematology Reference Labs (IRL’s), Laboratory Staff, Managers/Supervisors, Medical Directors, Nurses, Physicians, Residents/Fellows, Scientists, Technologists, Transfusion Safety Officers
• Teaching Level: Basic, Intermediate

• Director: Christopher Bocquet, Senior Director, Standards Development and Quality Initiatives, AABB, Bethesda, MD
  Moderator: Susan W. Noone, MPH, CQA(ASQ), Executive Director, Central Coast, Vitalant, Ventura, CA
  Speakers:

  • Nina Sen, BB, SBB (ASCP), Manager Transfusion Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • Alexandra Jimenez, MD, Director, Transfusion Medicine Education, Associate Director, Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Biotherapies Laboratory, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/ Weil Cornell Medicine, New York, New York

• Program Description

  This eCast will introduce AABB's 35th Edition of Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services through an interprofessional lens, emphasizing the collaborative framework that underpins standards development and implementation. Participants will gain insight into how laboratory professionals, quality and regulatory experts, and physicians work together on the interprofessional Standards Development Committee to establish evidence-informed, consensus-driven requirements that promote patient safety, donor health, and operational excellence.

  The program will summarize the new and revised requirements in the 35th Edition, explore the scientific and regulatory rationale behind the changes, and examine the practical impact on laboratory operations, clinical transfusion practice, and quality systems. Through this discussion, participants will better understand how coordinated collaboration across disciplines ensures effective implementation and sustained compliance.

  Learning Objectives

  After participating in this educational activity, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the interprofessional standards development process, including the collaborative roles of laboratory professionals, physicians, and regulatory/quality experts in shaping new and revised requirements.
  • Explain the scientific, clinical, and regulatory rationale for changes incorporated into the 35th Edition and how these updates support patient safety and quality improvement.
  • Assess the impact of revised requirements on laboratory operations, transfusion services, clinical practice, and quality management systems.
  • Identify strategies for interprofessional collaboration when implementing new or revised standards within their organizations.
  • Determine which institutional policies, procedures, and processes may require modification to align with the 35th Edition and ensure regulatory readiness.

  Registration

  Please note: registration for the live eCast is now closed. Registration is available for the on-demand eCast. If you registered for the live eCast you do not need to register for the on-demand e-Cast (access to the on-demand eCast was included with the live eCast registration).

  Single Viewer	Register
  Group Viewing	Register

  Continuing Education Credit

  This activity is eligible for one (1) continuing education credit/contact hour for Physicians, California Nurses, California Lab Personnel, Florida Lab Personnel and General Participation credit. AABB reserves the right to reduce or increase the number of credits granted based on the final activity duration. For more information on each credit type please visit our Continuing Education Credits webpage.

  There is no financial support for this activity.

  

  In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB), which is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  Physicians (ACCME): AABB designates this live activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. AABB designates this enduring activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

  Claiming Credit
  Live Activity - Upon completion of the live activity, you will receive instructions to complete your evaluation, which is necessary to claim credit and receive your certificate of attendance/completion (credit must be claimed by the date provided in the instructions). The evaluation can be found by logging into the AABB Education Platform.

  Enduring Activity - Once the enduring (on-demand) program is available, you will receive instructions to access the AABB Education Platform. Upon completion of viewing the enduring activity, you will need to complete the evaluation, which is necessary to claim credit and receive your certificate of completion (credit must be claimed by the date provided in the AABB Education Platform).

  Program & Credit Expiration Dates:

  • Live Activity Program Date: February 25, 2026; Credit Expiration Date: March 25, 2026
  • Enduring Activity Program Dates: February 25, 2026 – February 24, 2029; Credit Expiration Date: February 24, 2029

  Disclosure Declaration

  It is the policy of the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of its CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. AABB has evaluated, identified, and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that the presence of such relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.

  Disclosures for the planners of this event can be found here. Disclosures for the program faculty, peer reviewers, and AABB personnel are provided at the beginning of the program.

  Faculty Biographies

  Christopher Bocquet serves as the Senior Director for Standards and Quality Initiatives at AABB. In this role Christopher oversees all AABB Standards Committees as they work to create new editions of AABB Standards and associated Guidance documents.

  
  

  Dr. Alexandra Jimenez is the Associate Director of Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Biotherapies Laboratory and the Director of Transfusion Medicine Education at Weill Cornell Medicine. Previously, she served as Vice President, Medical Director at New York Blood Center Enterprises, where she oversaw a wide range of critical services, including an HLA laboratory, transfusion services, a cord blood program, and an apheresis service. Dr. Jimenez is an active member of the AABB Blood Bank and Transfusion Service Standards Committee and serves as Chair for the AABB Donor Health and Safety Committee. Her primary research interests focus on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and laboratory evaluation of transfusion-associated viral infections, as well as the blood safety implications of emerging transfusion-transmissible infectious diseases. Additionally, she has a strong interest in transfusion management, laboratory development, and initiatives to enhance patient safety.

  
  

  Susan Noone began her career in blood banking with Vitalant 27 years ago, first working in the laboratory, then spending several years in the quality department before moving into administration. Today, she is Executive Director for Vitalant in California's beautiful Central Coast. Her first involvement with AABB was as an assessor while in a Quality Specialist position. She continues to serve our profession as an assessor. Susan is a current member of AABB's Transfusion Medicine Subsection Coordinating Committee. She has previously chaired AABB's Membership Committee, is currently a mentor in AABB's mentorship program and participates in AABB's Leadership & Administrative and Quality Subsections. Susan has been active in California state level professional organizations and has served on the boards and as President of two California-based professional organizations, Blood Centers of California and California Blood Bank Society. She is currently serving a second term as President of Blood Centers of California.

  
  

  Nina Sen serves as the Transfusion Services Manager at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington for the last 11 years. She is also a volunteer assessor for AABB since 2014, current Chair for the BBTS Accreditation committee and liaison to the BBTS Standards committee since 2022. Other current AABB committee involvement includes the Accreditation Program, Education Advisory Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs.