May 20, 2022
This article first appeared in AABB News, an AABB member benefit.
At the conclusion of AABB’s 30th year, then-President Howard F. Taswell, MD, reflected that, “AABB has been at the vortex of matters important to blood bankers. Because it has chosen to ‘get involved,’ it has grown from a small group of blood banking pioneers to… the world leader in the scientific, technical and administrative aspects of blood banking.” Readers today may well ask, “What vortex?”
Trying Times
Globally, the 1970s were marked by coups, civil wars and terrorism across Asia, Africa, Latin America and parts of Europe. The rapid pace of social change that unfolded in the 1960s continued, especially in newly independent countries that had long been colonized. The oil supply crises in 1973 and 1979 resulted in worldwide inflation and slowed economic progress. Yet, in contrast, the decade also brought the realization of just how interdependent nations were, an increase in the number of women as world leaders and advances in technology that would have lasting impact.
The United States experienced the resignation of the president, steadily increasing inflation and unemployment (“stagnation”), large anti-war protests and a shift in space exploration from lunar landings to space stations and deep space probes. The first MRI imaging; the first sequencing of a complete DNA genome; the first current good manufacturing practice regulations; and the birth of fiber optics, microwave ovens and cell phones all became realities. And, yes, lava lamps, too.
A Good Idea
As it turned out, establishing an auxiliary legislative office in Washington, D.C., in 1968 and moving the Central Office as well in 1972 was one of the best ideas AABB ever had, as the need for enhanced coordination with government agencies had not been as critical as it would become during the “vortex.” In 1973, the government proposed a National Blood Policy (NBP), with four aims:
Although the AABB agreed with the NBP aims, some of the proposed methods for achieving them were problematic. Alternative proposals were developed by several blood-sector organizations, including the AABB. Representatives from all interested organizations submitted comments on, and changes to, all the proposals and counterproposals. Then things got messy.
Meetings were called on short notice, misunderstandings abounded (including the key definitions of “paid” and “volunteer” donor), organizational positions changed between votes, and the cooperation acknowledged by all parties to be essential for success… evaporated. An American Blood Commission emerged to work out the conflicts and find funding for implementing any decisions made. This Commission included wide representation from organizations in the blood sector as well as voices from labor, professions, business, consumers and the pharmaceutical industry. Once again, though, things got messy.
The deliberations continued for years. Progress was hampered by, among other causes, fundamental differences among the participating organizations, problems in obtaining data and a lack of blood banking knowledge among lay members of the commission. Next month’s AABB News will include the end of the story.
On the Brighter Side
AABB then-President Bernice Hemphill noted in 1976, “politics has consumed an inordinate portion of your Board’s time and energy,” but “by facing issues head-on, AABB has gained strength as a national organization.” Indeed, members made progress on many fronts during the period.
AABB began Phase II of the blood component therapy program, with printed and audiovisual materials that re-emphasized the information presented in the Phase I regional workshops held in 1967-69. Requests for educational materials streamed in from Sweden to Israel to Australia and places in between.
Other notable activities included the following:
Then and Now
Looking back through the AABB archives, one finds issues from the 1970s that are still quite relevant — inventory management, transfusion of Rh-negative blood, infectious diseases (then, mainly malaria and hepatitis), shared tips on recruiting donors, increasing communication between members of the AABB Board, joy felt by seasoned veterans on seeing former students assume leadership positions and encouragement of younger members to voice their opinions and get involved.
Still important, especially this year, is the ability to connect with and appreciate the past, yet also be mindful of what can be accomplished in the present and look forward to an exciting future. As Bernice Hemphill commented in 1976, “In the life of an organization, 30 years is merely a beginning. If its foundation is strong, its objectives are sound and its ideals are high; if its members are dedicated to its purposes and its leaders act with courage and confidence, there is no limit to what an association can accomplish — especially AABB.”
The Seventies at a Glance
A decade can introduce many new things, but a thread of continuity also runs through the years.
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