3 Blood Banks in S.F. Bay Area to Merge

Joining the trend toward bigger, more efficient medical providers, three of the San Francisco Bay area’s blood banks announced Tuesday that they will merge.

After nine months of negotiations, the Blood Bank of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Assn., Irwin Memorial Blood Centers and Peninsula Blood Bank said they are joining forces.

Together, they will become the largest independent blood donation and services organization on the West Coast and the fifth largest in the nation.

The new regional nonprofit blood services organization will be called Blood Centers of the Pacific. It will serve more than 60 hospitals, collect more than 200,000 units of blood annually and have an annual budget of more than $40 million.

“Our customers’ needs are changing,” said Sharolyn Kriger, president and CEO of the Peninsula Blood Bank. “We’re hearing more and more that our hospitals want to bid regionally and they want lower costs.”

The consolidation will mean the loss of up to 100 jobs--15% of the current 632-person work force of the three combined, said William Guertin, executive director of the blood bank of ACCMA. The layoffs, to be made during the transition period a few months from now, will affect every level of employee from managers to medical technicians and clerks.

The newly merged organization will be a stronger, more competitive force with lower prices for member hospitals while maintaining local community leadership and improving quality, said Andrew Heaton, current president and CEO of Irwin Memorial Blood Bank. It will combine Irwin’s research capability with the Peninsula’s strong donor base and Alameda-Contra Costa’s good hospital relations.

It also will be more convenient for blood donors because there will be donation centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and as far away as Redding, some 200 miles to the north.

The merger agreement should be signed within weeks and could take several months to become final. It still needs legal and regulatory approvals. Until then, the three will begin consolidating and combining services.