2008
Global Blood Fund is founded as a 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the Oklahoma Blood Institute, one of the largest community blood centers in the US.
2012
GBF engaged new leadership and re-invigorated its strategy and operations.
2012
Finalist, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge: Saving Lives at Birth.
2012
Funded TV spot, encouraging blood donation to help post-earthquake recovery in Haiti.
2013
Launch of the EqXchange (Equipment Exchange) portal, connecting those who have with those who need.
2013
Early equipment donations include portable donation beds to Cambodia, blood mixers to Rwanda, centrifuges to Mexico, hemapheresis technology to Nigeria…
2013
Delivered first of many bloodmobiles (to CETS in Chihuahua, Mexico).
2013
Participated in the Ghanaian Ebola Readiness and Resilience Initiative.
2013
Blood Systems Inc. (now Vitalant) and others join the Open Arms program, offering their donors the opportunity to have a financial donation made by the blood center on their behalf to support GBF’s work. To be joined by New York Blood Center, BioBridge and many more.
2013
Signed MoU with AfSBT (Africa Society for Blood Transfusion).
2013
In collaboration with Rotary, donated two volumes of a newly published technical manual to every country in Latin America.
2014
Grants distributed for activity in Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; Zambia and Uganda.
2014
GBF signs MoU with AABB (American Association of Blood Banks).
2014
Facilitated sharing of Latin American donor management best practice with African blood bankers.
2015
Over 600 portable donation beds (purchase value approaching $1,000,000) gifted to Mexico and Nigeria.
2015
In partnership with AATM (the Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine) GBF ran the first of a number of international “story contests” to generate donor and patient narratives to complement the traditional industry focus on statistics.
2015
Staff training program delivered in Namibia.
2015
GBF (Europe) established as a Charitable Incorporated Organization in the UK.
2016
Donated over 40,000 new blood bags (value in excess of $500,000) to Cameroon.
2016
Together with England’s NHS Blood and Transplant, conducted successful pilot of pre-donation blood typing (as a recruitment strategy) in Uganda.
2016
Together with a consortium of US blood centers, delivered support (e.g. red cell exchange therapy) for sickle cell disease patients in DRC and Nigeria.
2017
Established first rural blood bank in Northern Laos.
2017
Received substantial funding from the Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation to help combat the Global Transfusion Crisis.
2017
In partnership with SANBS (the South African National Blood Service), held the first International Donor Recruitment Engagement and Management workshop in Johannesburg.
2017
Six three-bed blood mobiles donated to Asia and Africa.
2018
GBF celebrates 10th anniversary.
2018
First collaborative activity with ISBT (International Society of Blood Transfusion), donating transfusion medicine textbooks across Africa.
2018
GBF publishes and distributes the book “Unlocking the Potential for Blood Adequacy in Africa”.
2018
Launch of Pledge 25 Club activity to help aid the retention of high-school blood donors.
2019
First in-country Pledge 25 Club training delivered, for Uganda.
2019
GBF helps purchase Trima technology for Nigeria, enabling stem cell transplantation for the first time.
2019
Significant $$$ donations from Terumo BCT, Abbott, Immucor. We thank these and other industry supporters – Macopharma, Haemonetics, Fresenius, Applied Science, HemaTerra and many more – for their financial and in-kind support.
2019
Training series delivered to KNBTS (Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service).
2020
Stood up research program in Tanzania to establish the cost-effectiveness of switching from qualitative to quantitative Hb testing.
2020
COVID-19 information, education and communication resources donated to multiple countries in Africa and Latin America.
2020
Pandemic-related grants program provided funding for, e.g., research in Cameroon, donor education in Nigeria.
2020
Launch of cloud-based Blood Donor Recruiter Education and Certification Program, consisting of 12 X 30-minute narrated video modules to facilitate distance learning.