History

When O.K. Fike and Dr. Millard White founded the Lower West Coast Blood Bank in February 1949, they planted the seeds of a humanitarian idea that would blossom over five decades. For almost 58 years, tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers, just like you, have helped to provide the critical life saving gift of blood to our local hospitals and patients.

In 1949 the Blood Bank collected 551 pints of blood, now called “units. Today, more than 1,000 blood drives are held annually and more than 24,000 units of blood are collected. As we move beyond 2007, researchers and scientists offer technological advances that promise to revolutionize transfusion medicine and the growing field of cellular therapy.

Now known as Suncoast Communities Blood Bank, we will continue to address challenges by providing our donors with state of the art collection and testing instruments that maximize blood donor and recipient safety and comfort. The success of this organization has relied completely on the generosity of its steadfast donors.