Skip to main content
Departments / Pathology / Residency Training / Curriculum/Schedule / Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine (BBTM)

Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine

Blood Bank faculty Dr. Oh and Dr. Alquist with resident VinayLength: 3 x 4 week-long blocks
Location: Hoxworth Blood Center
Rotation Director: David Oh, MD
Participating Faculty: Caroline Alquist, M.D., Ph.D. Sachie Ikegami, M.D., PhD, Kristina Prus, M.D., Stephanie Kinney, M.D.

Residents rotate through three month-long rotations as part of their training in blood banking and transfusion medicine, split between the donor center and pediatric transfusion service. Residents are expected to be an engaged and active member of the team while rotating, with a focus on learning medical knowledge and practical skills including leadership and patient care consultation.

 Each rotation has focused objectives based on the area of rotation. Residents spend two weeks at Hoxworth Blood Center and two weeks at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital during each rotation month to further their skills and learning in their respective unique settings. Opportunities at both locations include covering clinical and donor calls, active participation in cases such as donor reactions, transfusion reaction, and product requests, and observations of blood bank procedures.

 Hoxworth Blood Center provides education on operational departments of the blood center, including collections, manufacturing, recruitment, transplantation immunology, cellular therapies, and therapeutic apheresis. Additionally, throughout each rotation, residents are active participants in traditional transfusion therapies, management, complex antibody work ups, transfusion reaction work ups, blood utilization reviews, and clinical case reviews. Education is provided through in-person teaching from faculty members as well as recorded video lectures to allow for directed and self-directed learning.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital provides education on the operation and medical directorship of a large hospital-based transfusion service. Objectives include active and passive learning in automated blood bank testing, trauma and coagulation, transfusion consultation to a variety of teams, managing transfusion reactions, inventory allocation in times of shortage, patient blood management, apheresis, special transfusion considerations (BMT, sickle cell disease, newborns), and regulatory requirements of a transfusion service. Educational opportunities include time on the bench, clinical call responsibility, in-person informal and formal teaching from faculty, and self-directed reading and cases that are presented at the end of each rotation.

Founded in 1938, Hoxworth Blood Center is the second oldest blood center in the United States and has a storied history as a pioneering center in the field of transfusion medicine. With its dedicated Research Division, Hoxworth provides residents with opportunities to participate in research ranging from basic biological and clinical research through phase III clinical trials. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is a leader in research and education and consistently ranked as one of America’s top children’s hospitals by the US News and World Report. The large laboratory and interdisciplinary connections allow for opportunities in research and quality improvement projects for residents. Additionally, all faculty have board certification in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Hoxworth Blood Center are both a short walk from the main University of Cincinnati Medical Center campus.

For residents seeking to sub-specialize in blood banking and transfusion medicine, Hoxworth Blood Center, in partnership with the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, offers a 1-year ACGME-accredited Fellowship in Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine designed to prepare fellows for leadership roles as Medical Directors of regional or community blood center or Directors of hospital transfusion services. Access to a blood center as well as adult and pediatric transfusion services allows for the fellow to choose an area of additional focus within the fellowship year to better cater to the fellow’s interests and career goals. For more information, please refer to the Hoxworth Blood Center’s website.

Directory Search
Intranet Login

CONTACT US

Department of
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

UC Health University Hospital
Laboratory Medicine Building
Suite 110
3188 Bellevue Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45219

Phone: (513) 584-7284
Fax: (513) 584-3892
Email: pathology@uc.edu