Across the nation and around the globe, the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP)
supplies blood and blood products to military personnel and their families. In order
to meet military hospital and combat needs, the military requires qualified personnel
to preserve a safe and secure blood supply for our military community.
The Blood Bank Fellowship is an 18-month program which trains Clinical Laboratory
Officers from all three branches of the Armed Services (Army, Navy and Air Force)
in the advanced, specialized blood bank topics required in today's healthcare industry.
Topics include: immunology; cellular and molecular biology; Transfusion Transmitted
Diseases (TTD); transfusion services and donor center operations/management; and
accreditation/federal regulatory requirements, such as Quality Systems and current
Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) as established by the Food and Drug Administration
and the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks). Upon completion
of a 12-month technical and didactic phase, officers are eligible to sit for
the Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) exam. At the completion of the 18-month program, officers graduate with a Master's degree from George Washington University.
The directors of the Army, Navy and Air Force Service Blood Programs, along with
the director of the Armed Services Blood Program Office (ASBPO), provide the program
officials with the guidance needed to prepare the BBF graduates for their roles
as blood program officers.
The Advisory Committee of the BBF addresses the program as the producer of quality
blood bank managers/SBB military officers. The membership of the committee adjusts
the curriculum to meet the laboratory officer needs of the three services. The standard
curriculum required for the completion of an SBB program and Master's degree is
also factored into the needs of the services.
The Faculty Committee of the BBF addresses the day-to-day clinical and didactic
operations of the program. The lecturers, clinical site instructors and administrators
directly provide the curriculum for the BBF students.
The current academic calendar begins each year in July. The SBB portion of the BBF
is completed the following June. The fellows may then sit for the American Society
for Clinical Pathology Board of Registry SBB exam in July. The degree requirements
for GWU are completed by December, for a total program length of 18-months.
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Many SBB Fellowship graduates have gone on to win the ASBP Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Click here find out more about
these outstanding SBB alumni.
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