AABB Releases 35th Edition of BB/TS Standards

The 35th edition of AABB’s Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (BB/TS Standards) is now available in the AABB Store.

The 35th edition clarifies requirements for notifying AABB of accreditation-relevant changes and refines expectations for equipment investigations following nonconformances. The standards also establish monitoring requirements for critical technology infrastructure and add a new standard requiring preparation of pathogen-reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex in accordance with manufacturer instructions.

AABB’s BB/TS Standards Committee released a document that outlines significant changes to the 35th edition and the committee’s responses to public comments.

The standards take effect April 1 and are available in electronic and print formats or as a bundle of both versions. AABB also offers a print bundle that includes the standards and the Guidance for Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services.

Organizations interested in adopting the standards can participate in a complimentary two-week trial of the electronic version in the Standards Portal.

AABB has released the list of the 10 most-viewed full-text Transfusion articles in 2025. The list includes recently published articles as well as previously published studies that continue to generate sustained readership.

Most-Viewed Articles in 2025:

• Laboratory detection of donors implicated in transfusion-transmitted malaria, Galel S. December 2024. 9,530 views.
• Improved outcomes and reduced costs associated with a health-system-wide patient blood management program: A retrospective observational study in four major adult tertiary-care hospitals, Leahy M. June 2017. 7,095 views.
• Tranexamic acid in trauma: After 3 hours from injury, when is it safe and effective to use again?, Barrett C. THOR Supplement 2024. 4,517 views.
• How do we maintain a dual inventory of room temperature stored platelets with cold-stored platelets?, Cohn C. July 2025. 3,972 views.
• Management of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury, Abdelmalik PA. THOR Supplement 2019. 3,669 views.
• How do we manage hyperhemolysis syndrome?, Adkins B. October 2024. 3,639 views.
• A lower fibrinogen threshold does not lead to increased bleeding risk in patients receiving therapeutic plasma exchange: A prospective single-center analysis, Wodajo A. June 2024. 3,435 views.
• The clinical use of platelet transfusions: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis on behalf of the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines, Jug R. June 2025. 3,220 views.
• Plasma transfusion in the intensive care unit, Van Haeren MMT. January 2025. 2,960 views.
• International review of blood donation screening for anti-HBc and occult hepatitis B virus infection, Fu M. November 2024. 2,805 views.

Articles are available through the Transfusion website.

AABB Accepting Applications For 2026 Future Leader Scholarship Awards Program

AABB is accepting applications for the 2026 Future Leader Scholarship Awards Program for specialists in blood banking (SBB) (or equivalent) and transfusion medicine and biotherapies fellows. Bestowed annually, the awards — up to two for each discipline — are meant to encourage interest in transfusion medicine and or biotherapies research, development and continuing education. 

To be eligible for the transfusion medicine and biotherapies fellow awards program, applicants must be current fellows in a transfusion medicine or cellular therapy program or training program that includes at least one continuous year in transfusion medicine or cellular therapy training.

To be considered for the SBB (or equivalent) awards program, applicants must be enrolled in, accepted for enrollment in, or have recently completed training (within 24 months) in an SBB (or equivalent) certification course from an AABB-accredited institution.

Applications are due Friday, Aug. 7. AABB will present the awards during the 2026 AABB Annual Meeting, to be held Oct. 17 – 19 in Atlanta, Ga., where award recipients will deliver a five-minute lecture on their study at the Transfusion Medicine Subsection Coordinating Committee Business Meeting and Luncheon on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Steve Spitalnik Retires from Columbia University

Steven L. Spitalnik, MD, professor of pathology and cell biology and former executive vice chair for laboratory medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, retired this month following a distinguished career advancing transfusion medicine, hematology and laboratory science. He now holds the title of professor emeritus of pathology and cell biology.

As co-director of the Laboratory of Transfusion Biology, Spitalnik led NIH-funded research aimed at improving transfusion practice and patient outcomes. He authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and served as principal investigator on numerous NIH-supported studies, significantly advancing understanding of red blood cell biology, human blood group antigens and hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Spitalnik was inducted into the AABB Foundation Hall of Fame in 2016 in honor of his extensive research contributions.

A pillar of the AABB community for more than four decades, Spitalnik served on the AABB Board of Directors and contributed extensively to the field through mentorship, scholarship, editorial leadership and service on numerous AABB committees and workgroups. He received AABB’s Emily Cooley Memorial Award in 2013 and the Tibor Greenwalt Memorial Award in 2025 in recognition of his profound influence on the blood and biotherapies field.

“Steve’s impact on transfusion medicine has been extraordinary,” said Claudia S. Cohn, MD, PhD, AABB’s chief medical officer. “From advancing our understanding of red blood cell biology to strengthening the evidence base around hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, his work has improved care for countless patients and their families. AABB and our field are better for his decades of leadership, scholarship and service.

AABB Relaunches WNV Biovigilance Network, Releases 2025 Surveillance Data

AABB has relaunched its West Nile Virus (WNV) Biovigilance Network and is now publishing 2025 and 2026 surveillance data through a new public-facing dashboard. The platform restores routine biovigilance reporting and provides data visualization to support monitoring of seasonal WNV activity affecting the blood supply.

The WNV Biovigilance Network supports coordinated identification and tracking of transfusion-relevant WNV activity. It complements, but does not replace, public health agency surveillance systems and is not intended to predict occurrence, frequency or geographic distribution.

WNV Cases in 2025

In 2025, there were a total of 475 WNV-reactive donations reported to the network, with the highest number of cases identified in Texas (56), Colorado (39) and Minnesota (39).

AABB encourages blood collection facilities to support transfusion safety efforts by reporting initial reactive donations to the biovigilance network.

Members subscribed to the email alert list receive notification of reported WNV activity to help inform transitions from minipool to individual donor nucleic acid testing (ID NAT) when indicated. Interested parties may contact AABB to subscribe to email alerts.