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Community Blood Services of Illinois was organized in 1972 to supply life-saving blood needed by critically ill and injured people. A fundamental intent was to assure area patients of the availability of adequate blood supplies derived solely from donations made by altruistic, volunteer donors. Established as a service division of Regional Health Resource Center, an Illinois Not-For-Profit corporation operated exclusively for charitable purposes, formation of the blood center was achieved with the noteworthy support and assistance of the Champaign County Medical Society and a financial grant for the State of Illinois. In the decades since its formation, primary activities of the blood center have continued to be the collection, preparation, testing and distribution of donated blood products for transfusion to patients. Community Blood Services of Illinois presently supplies all voluntarily donated blood used by patients at the community hospitals in Champaign-Urbana, Charleston-Mattoon, Danville and Effingham, Illinois. With strong support from area residents, and students at the University of Illinois and Eastern Illinois University, the blood center also sustains a long history of sharing blood to help meet patient needs elsewhere across the United States. The Chicago area, where many of the students attending area universities have permanent residence, is a particular focus for blood sharing. With blood products being short-lived, ample area supplies assure the continuous availability of blood to meet both routine and emergency needs of patients at area hospitals. In additional to its core services of supplying transfusible blood products, the blood center also provides a number of specialty services that support area health care professionals in the treatment of patients with blood-related diseases:
Licensure, Accreditation, Affiliations Community Blood Services of Illinois is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks, is an authorized donor center for the National Marrow Donor Program, and is CLIA certified for laboratory activities. Community Blood Services of Illinois is a member of America's Blood Centers, the network of federally-licensed and locally governed blood centers that supply one-half of all voluntarily donated blood nationally. Community Blood Services of Illinois is a service division of Regional Health Resource Center. Organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, Regional Health Resource Center is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit Illinois corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised primarily of area physicians. Because the blood center's ability to fulfill its mission depends upon community support and cooperation, a Regional Blood Center Committee representing blood donors, served hospitals, patients and the community-at-large oversees all blood center operations and advises the Regional Health Resource Center Board of Directors on policies appropriate for the blood center. Service fees charged to hospitals and other health care providers are the blood center's primary source of funding. The service fees are set to adequately recover the blood center's costs for trained personnel, supplies, equipment, testing reagents, building facilities and other operating resources. No charge is made for donated blood itself, only for the cost of delivering services. The blood center's service fees are typically covered by health insurance programs. NOTE: Some areas of the United States still require blood transfusion patients to either recruit donors to replace blood received, or to pay fees to have it replaced. This system of "replacement fees and replacement credits" is prohibited by Illinois law. Blood supplies in our state are based solely on blood donations by altruistic volunteers. The Need for Volunteer Blood Donors Each year, thousands of patients here in east central Illinois--and approximately four million patients in our nation-- need blood transfusions. There are as yet no effective substitutes for human blood... healthy volunteers are the only source of the life-saving gift of blood. Blood Donation Is Safe:
Blood Donation Is Convenient:
If you are in good health and interested in becoming a blood donor, we encourage you to contact us at 217-367-2202 or 800-217-GIVE (4483). Your donation will help save the lives of the patients we serve. Hospitals Served Community Blood Services of Illinois supplies all donated blood used to treat patients at the following hospitals:
Blood Donation Sites URBANA-- DANVILLE --
MATTOON/CHARLESTON --
RANTOUL --
Mobile Blood Drives -- Community Blood Services of Illinois
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