Mr. Chairman and Members of the Advisory Committee:

The American Red Cross is pleased to join in today's deliberations concerning the important public health issue of blood availability. Blood is a precious national health resource made available only through volunteers who generously give part of themselves to help patients in need. The American Red Cross is uniquely positioned to address the human element of blood availability, as we interact with the people at either end of the process -- our volunteer donors and patients in need of transfusions.

The safety of the blood supply is the number one priority of the Red Cross, and through our national system we continue to strengthen our infrastructure to ensure safety. A similar investment is now needed to ensure availability. We face an increased demand for blood, coupled with challenging new threats to blood safety, such as vCJD. It will take a major investment of time, money, expertise, and resources to make the American public aware of the need to recruit a new generation of blood donors.

The Role of the Federal Government
The Advisory Committee has raised the important issue of where responsibility resides for ensuring an adequate blood supply, and the role of the federal government. The government's role is vital in the area of blood safety. The FDA serves as the independent representative of the American public to ensure blood safety by means of blood centers' compliance with statutes and regulations. Through FDA, the federal government has in place an extensive regulatory and auditing structure that serves this nation well, as it tempers the impact of regulatory actions on availability.

The federal government has responsibilities for blood safety in two other important areas. First, research funding to study blood-born pathogens and other safety issues must be made available through the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Second, the Health Care Financing Administration, as the largest third party payor for patients needing blood, must make certain that Medicare patients have access to state of the art blood products by appropriately reimbursing hospitals. These important responsibilities -- regulatory oversight, federal funding for research, and adequate reimbursement-- rest with the federal government. We do not believe that it is the role of the federal government to monitor the availability of the blood supply.

Role of the Private Sector in Blood Availability
Responsibility and accountability for providing an adequate and safe blood supply rests with the blood banking community. Blood availability starts with understanding and meeting the needs of the hospitals and patients we serve. As a result, it is the obligation of the Red Cross and our blood banking colleagues to forecast, plan for, monitor and act to meet the demand for these lifesaving products. Information on availability is needed on a daily, monthly, and longer term basis if the blood banking community is to successfully project and meet blood product needs. These information management and need projection tools are the underpinning of an available blood supply.

Historically, availability has been based on a supply-driven model, which emphasized an individual blood center's ability to bring in blood donors and collect blood. The result was cyclical and seasonal patterns of shortages throughout the country, which have become worse as the population ages and the need for blood continues to grow.

By changing to a need-driven model -- one based upon projected patient needs -- the American Red Cross can expand and stabilize collections to ensure an adequate supply of blood products whenever and wherever they are needed, now and into the future. The Red Cross is now instituting a nationwide system that enables us to have a real-time view of daily blood collection and inventory data for half the nation's blood supply, by blood type, product, location, and customer. We are coupling this collection and inventory system with information on individual hospital needs. Combining these data will enable the Red Cross to plan for and pinpoint where specific blood products are needed and where potential shortages may occur. We will then take immediate action to ensure that products are available where needed.

This new system will also include data on blood usage and nationwide access to collection scheduling information. A critical component of this model is the collection of individual hospital blood needs and fulfillment of those needs.

This innovative model will enable the Red Cross to anticipate and prevent potential blood shortages. We will be able to utilize our resources to meet the needs of all patients, reduce unneeded inventory, and minimize waste of this precious resource thereby fostering greater stewardship of the nation's blood supply.

The Role of the American Public
The American public recognizes that blood is a national treasure that should be available to all people at all times so that patient needs will be met. When asked to give, the American public has never failed to be generous. A national public opinion poll conducted last month on behalf of the Red Cross found that the majority of blood donors understand that their blood donation is used to help people who need it most, no matter where they live in the United States. Among blood donors who were not previously aware that blood donations may be used to help people outside of their local area, almost all of the respondents reported that the location of the patient receiving their donation had no impact on their willingness to donate blood. Clearly, the American public supports the use of blood for those patients most in need.

People who voluntarily donate blood are among the most generous philanthropists who give a piece of themselves to save another. At present the Red Cross is blessed with 7 million blood donors, people who have donated at least one time in the past four years. In the coming months, the Red Cross intends to send letters to all current and lapsed donors. This effort is being undertaken by the Red Cross to assist in the establishment of the next generation of blood donors who will help to ensure an adequate blood supply based on the needs of the hospital and patients we serve.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our exciting vision of the future to ensure a safe and available blood supply. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. To help the victims of disaster, you may make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013.

The American Red Cross is dedicated to helping make families and communities safer at home and around the world. A humanitarian service organization currently operating on a budget of $2.7 billion, the American Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 63,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. The American Red Cross also trains more than 11.7 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provides direct health services to 2.5 million people, provides more than 24 million locally relevant community services, assists international disaster and conflict victims in more than 50 countries, and transmits nearly 1.4 million emergency messages between members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Dr. Bernadine Healy is president and CEO of the American Red Cross. If you would like information on Red Cross services and programs please contact your local Red Cross.