March 20, 2010

NBC Augusta 26 | news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia

Unfortunately your browser does not hava JavaScript capabilities which are required to exploit full functionality of our site. This could be the result of two possible scenarios:

You are using an old web browser, in which case you should upgrade it to a newer version. We recommend the latest version of Firefox.

You have disabled JavaScript in you browser, in which case you will have to enable it to properly use our site. Information on enabling JavaScript.

NBC Augusta's Health Check: Local News

Shepeard Community Blood Center only bank in the state with DNA testing machine

Tools

A Flash player error has occurred, please make sure you have the latest Adobe Flash Player. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

By Ashley Campbell acampbell@nbcaugusta.com

Story Updated: Nov 11, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Advanced technology has made it's way to a local blood bank. Shepeard Community Blood Center is the only bank in the state to have a DNA testing machine. The machine allows the blood bank to check in house for any infectious diseases such as hepatitis or AIDS. CEO Kevin Belanger says the machine helps save processing time between the bank and the hospital. "When we collected the blood it took two days to get the blood on the shelves and shipped to the hospitals. Now we're going to be able to cut down by one day," said Belanger. Shepeard Community Blood Center will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new testing equipment and a new blood mobile Tuesday.

NBC Augusta 26 News brings you straight to the point news, weather, and sports from Augusta and the CSRA. Meet our NBC Augusta 26 News staff!

View Oldest Comments First

Ashley Campbell with NBC Augusta 26 News says ...

On Friday, Nov 13 at 9:30 PM

Shepeard Community Blood Center says the bank has no platelets on it's shelves and is in desperate need of both platelet and blood donations.

Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Tim Bearden says ...

On Friday, Nov 13 at 2:28 PM

Overall, I am unsure how beneficial this will be. The shelf life fo blood is usually 35-42 days. The cost of testing locally must be incredibly expensive unless the blood center is planning on testing for other centers as well. Platelets, with a 5 day shelf life have to wait to be detected for bacterial contamination so I don't believe the faster testing would make much of a difference. Also, with the economy down, most blood centers have an adequate supply as hospital use has decreased.