Program Outline
The medical director training program is a two-year program consisting of one year of specific training as follows, along with one year of research with a Blood Center investigator. This program can be entered at any point and can be modified, depending on the needs of the applicant.

1. Blood Resource Management (Three Months)
Donor recruitment, blood collection, donor testing, blood component preparation, crossmatch and red cell reference laboratories, quality control, and effective utilization of resources.

2. Hemostasis (One Month)
Clinical and laboratory skills in diagnosis and management of bleeding disorders, comprehensive care of hemophilia patients, and assessment of the coagulation needs of the massively bleeding patient.

3. Apheresis Procedures (One Month)
Techniques of plasma, platelet, granulocyte and peripheral blood stem cell collection from single donors, techniques for selecting and motivating donors, and therapeutic apheresis.

4. Histocompatibility/Immunogenetics (One Month)
Biological and technical aspects of histocompatibility testing and transplantation immunology.

5. Platelet Immunology (One Month)
Assessment of thrombocytopenic disorders using platelet radiolabeling procedures and platelet antigen and antibody testing.

6. Tissue Banking (One Month)
The Northwest Tissue Services, located at the Puget Sound Blood Center, provides experience in harvesting, processing, and distribution of musculoskeletal tissue.

7. Business Management, Data Collection, and Evaluation (One Month)
Principles of cost accounting, budgeting, personnel management, federal bloodbanking regulations. Techniques of data collection and analysis needed for blood resource management.

8. Clinical Experience (Six Months)
Training in clinical hematology and blood transfusion consultation to enable the bloodbank director to serve as a specialized medical consultant in his/her community. Trainees will be involved in clinical consultations for the second half of the year under the supervision of the directorial staff of the Blood Center.