FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blood Center Executive Vice President and COO to Retire

JULY 25, 2007, SEATTLE — D. Michael Strong, PhD, Puget Sound Blood Center executive vice president, operations and COO, has announced his intention to retire October 31, 2007—coinciding with the end of his term as AABB president. The public announcement follows succession planning by the Blood Center’s executive team as Dr. Strong completes nearly two decades of Blood Center leadership.

“Dr. Strong is an extraordinary leader, whose vision and commitment significantly contributed to the success of our organization during his nearly 20-year career at the Puget Sound Blood Center,” says Dr. Richard B. Counts, president and CEO, Puget Sound Blood Center. “He has made a remarkable contribution to the growth and continuing momentum of our Blood Center and our industry. We owe him a big debt of gratitude for his dedication and passion,” Dr. Counts continued.

Dr. Strong joined Puget Sound Blood Center in 1988 to establish the Northwest Tissue Services, now known as Northwest Tissue Services at Puget Sound Blood Center. In its nearly twenty years of operation, The Blood Center’s Northwest Tissue Services has provided more than 100,000 allografts transplanted to patients throughout the country and abroad, with 90 percent going to patients in the Northwest. In addition, Tissue Services has trained tissue bankers from around the world, establishing an international reputation in the process.

Following his success in launching the Blood Center’s world-renowned Tissue Services, Dr. Strong was appointed director of laboratories for the entire Blood Center in 1992, director of operations in 1994 and executive vice president of operations in 2000, before being named chief operating officer in 2005.

His leadership and pioneering spirit have been honored twice with lifetime achievement awards. In 2000 America’s Blood Centers presented Dr. Strong with the Thomas F. Zuck Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to the implementation of nucleic acid testing used for detection of infectious disease markers in the nation’s blood supply. In 2003, he received a second lifetime achievement award, the George W. Hyatt Memorial Award, from the American Association of Tissue Banks.

Dr. Strong is a graduate of Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash., and received his PhD from The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He began his career in 1965 as the supervisor of the Blood Bank, Hematology and Serology Departments in the Clinical Laboratory of the 1,600-bed Naval Hospital, Philadelphia. During 15 years of research at the Naval Medical Research Institute, he was involved in the establishment of the organ and bone marrow transplantation units of the Army and Navy, histocompatibility, clinical immunology and tissue banking programs at the Naval Medical Center, and the initiation of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). He was a Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences until his retirement from the Navy in 1985 to become vice president of Research and Development of Genetic Systems Corp., a Seattle biotech company. In addition to his current position at the Blood Center he is also a research professor in the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington.

The Food and Drug Administration appointed Dr. Strong to its Blood Products Advisory Committee (BPAC) in 2003 and he has served as a reviewer of the research program of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and the Transfusion Service of the NIH. He is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in cell cryopreservation and tissue banking, and has served on numerous boards and committees including the American Association of Tissue Banks, which he assisted in founding in 1976, and the Northwest Organ Procurement Agency. He is currently president of the AABB and has been instrumental in establishing a U.S. Biovigilance Network in collaboration with several government agencies including the CDC.

About Puget Sound Blood Center
Puget Sound Blood Center is an independent, community-based regional resource recognized internationally for its research and medical and blood and tissue services. Known as the leader in transfusion medicine, Puget Sound Blood Center operates the world's largest transfusion service as well as patient-focused research programs and specialized laboratory services in support of transfusion and transplantation services. Patients with leukemia, cancer, burns, hemophilia and traumatic injuries depend on the breakthrough discoveries made by Blood Center scientists.

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