Become AABB-Accredited

Since 1957, AABB has accredited facilities throughout the world. AABB accreditation is an international mark of excellence that demonstrates your facility's commitment to quality and safety to patients, donors, regulatory agencies, insurance companies and more.

Why AABB Accreditation?

Demonstrate Your Commitment to Quality and Safety

Raise the level of trust that patients, donors and other stakeholders have in your facility by pursuing and maintaining AABB Accreditation, which is designed to improve the quality and safety of collecting, processing, testing, distributing and administering blood and blood products.

Distinguish Your Facility with a Third-party Endorsement

• Increase accountability by monitoring performance, capturing deviations and predicting suboptimal outcomes.
• Mitigate costly outcomes by educating staff, identifying strengths and improving workflow to mitigate risks.
• Measure your facility’s practices and performance against current, evidence-based state and federal regulations and standards, including CLIA.
• Identify opportunities to streamline operations that may reduce operational costs.
• Attract new patients and referrals by demonstrating your facility’s commitment to patient-centered care, quality and safety.
• Differentiate your facility and services from your competitors.
• Demonstrate a culture of excellence.
• Help recruiting and retaining the best staff.
• Includes membership and recognition by AABB, an international association dedicated to making transfusion medicine and biotherapies safe, available and effective worldwide.

Minimize Your Facility’s Risk

AABB's highly qualified assessors understand that one error could impact the life of a patient or a donor. AABB assessors are trained to any potential risks or violations when visiting facilities - many of which could be problematic if identified by regulatory authorities, others that could potentially result in significant risks for patients or donors.

Connect with Accreditation Experts

Whether you are working toward AABB accreditation or maintaining your facility's AABB accreditation, our staff of experts is available for you. They keep up to date on regulatory changes impacting your facility, compliance issues, emerging risks and more.

Accreditation Phases and Expectations

• There are two phases to achieving AABB accreditation for the first time or adding a new activity; the self-assessment phase followed by the on-site assessment phase.
• The majority of facilities complete both the initial self-assessment phase and the on-site assessment phase in 1 – 2 years and achieve AABB accreditation. Much of this will depend on the readiness of the facility when they begin the process, the knowledge of their staff, and the amount of time and resources available to work on the AABB accreditation process. In some instances, this timeframe will be shorter and in other instances it will be longer.
• Once accredited, a facility goes through the accreditation process (on-site assessment phase) every two years.
• The expectations of an AABB assessment are that all standards are addressed in policies, processes and procedures (PPP's), and that PPP's are followed as written.

*** 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 ***

Steps to Become AABB Accredited

1. Decide activities for which accreditation is desired.
2. View information about AABB Institutional Membership Pricing for accreditation.
3. Indicate individuals who will be involved in the accreditation process.
   1. Non-member facilities submit a completed Institutional Membership Application.
   2. AABB accredited facilities adding a new activity submit a completed New Activity and Facility Personnel Contact Information form (includes a line to list the activity being added).
4. Fill in qualifying details for the accreditation activities of interest.
   1. Locations Table – Lists what types of activities are performed at which locations.
      • Cell Therapy Activities
      • All Other Activities
   2. Additional information for activities listed after each bullet below:
      • ISBT 128 Labeling Questionnaire: Blood Banks, Blood Donor Centers, Transfusion Facilities, and Cell Therapy Facilities (i.e. Cord Blood, HPC, Somatic Cell)
      • Infectious Disease Testing Questionnaire: Blood Banks, Blood Donor Centers, Transfusion Facilities, and Cell Therapy Facilities (i.e. Cord Blood, HPC, Somatic Cell)
      • Cord Blood Questionnaire: Cord Blood Banks
      • Relationship Testing Questionnaire: Relationship Facilities
5. Email information from #3 and #4 above to accreditation@aabb.org.
6. Pay dues (invoice received by email).
7. Perform the self-assessment in APEX, the on-line accreditation portal.
8. Proceed to on-site assessment after AABB reviews and approves the self-assessment.
9. Achieves AABB accreditation upon successful completion of the on-site assessment including resolution of any nonconformances.

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

+1.301.215.6492 | accreditation@aabb.org