Client Services

• Red Blood Cells (Deglycerolized, Washed, Frozen, Leukocyte-reduced)
• Platelets (Apheresis—Leukocyte-Reduced) 
• Plasma (Apheresis, Cryoprecipitate-reduced, Fresh Frozen, Frozen within 24 hours, Liquid) 
• Whole Blood (Non-leukocyte-reduced and Low-Titer WB Non-leukocyte-reduced) 
• Cryoprecipitate AHF (Single and Pooled)

Additionally, we provide modified components and component services to meet specialized needs.

We are committed to helping patients; therefore, we are committed to delivering the best service to our hospital partners. We can provide logistical support, saving you time, resources and expenses. Depending on the service package you select, you may benefit from some or all of the following services:

• Online ordering
• Product deliveries, including STAT and ASAP deliveries
• Unpacking and stocking of products
• Inventory management
• Full-credit return privileges on select units for full-service customers only
• Specimen pickups
• Consignments
• Usage/ quality reporting

Orders for most transfusable blood components are to be placed via our 24-hour line, (713) 791-6250.

Requests for transfusable components requiring special handling should also be placed using this line, but may be transferred to another area of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center specifically designated to handle these orders.

Orders relating to washed or antigen-negative red blood cells should be directed to our Consultation and Reference Lab at (713) 791-6286.

To ensure the best service, callers should clearly identify themselves and the hospital they represent, and then specify the number of units required of each particular blood group and Rh factor, the blood components being requested and the nature of their request.

For example: “This is John Doe at Oakridge Hospital. I’d like to order six O-positive Leuko-Reduced Red Blood Cells for stock.” The person placing the order should receive feedback from our staff to ensure the order was recorded properly. If this feedback is not automatically given, it should be requested.

For your added convenience, blood and blood component orders may be placed through our online ordering system. Utilizing the online system also allows hospitals to track the status of their orders. The system also has reporting capability that allows your hospitals to monitor ordering patterns and total number of units shipped.

To access the system, use the Hospital Log in button, located at the top of the page under the "Log In" button.

For product ordering: 

1. From the main menu click on “Place a new order.”
2. In the component grid, enter the quantity and blood type of desired product. 
3. Submit order.
4. Review and confirm order.

For product returns:

1. From the main menu, click on “Returns."
2. Manually enter or scan the unit number and product code. 
3. Product can also be searched for by clicking browse inventory and selecting search criteria.
4. Add desired products to return grid and print packing slip.
5. Keep packing slip handy for Hospital Services representative.

For checking order status:

1. Click on the “Check order status” tab to display the status of the last 10 orders placed (by phone or online).
2. Click on the order date to display order details.

For questions regarding the online ordering system, please contact Lisa Torres at (713) 791-6268 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Patients scheduled for surgery may donate blood for themselves (autologous donations), and physicians may direct us to collect blood from pre-selected donors (directed donations). Directed Donations can be made at any of our Neighborhood Donor Centers.  Autologous Donations must be scheduled at the following locations; The Blood Center East Texas, Lufkin Neighborhood Donor Center, The Blood Center of Brazos Valley, and Bill T. Teague Neighborhood Donor Center.

The Blood Center East Texas
3520 N. University Dr., Nacogdoches, TX 75965 | (936) 560-3054

Lufkin Neighborhood Donor Center 
202 S. Franklin St., Lufkin, TX 75904 | (936) 634-2116

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center of Brazos Valley

1015 Krenek Tap Rd, College Station, TX 77840 | (979) 764-5600

Bill T. Teague Neighborhood Donation Center 
1400 La Concha Lane, Houston, TX 77054 | (713) 791-6620

All autologous and directed donations require a physician’s order. The completed Request for Autologous/Directed Donations form should be faxed to Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s Donor Services Department at (713) 790-1782. Once the unit has been drawn, it takes approximately 72 hours to be ready for delivery to the hospital. To track a unit already donated, contact Donor Services at (713) 791-6608.

The charges associated with this program vary by blood component. Please refer to our current Fee Schedule for the prices. Units accepted by your hospital from collection sources out of region are not returnable for credit. Medical Director approval is required to freeze autologous red blood cells.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center provides therapeutic phlebotomy. The patient’s physician must complete a Request for Therapeutic Phlebotomy Form, including the frequency and the minimum hematocrit level. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s Chief Medical Officer or Medical Director must approve all therapeutic phlebotomy requests prior to the first phlebotomy. These procedures may be performed at our Neighborhood Donor Centers on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Transfusion Service Laboratory – Please COMPLETE FORM and fax to (713)791-7729 with supporting documentation. You will be contacted when investigation has officially been opened.

Report of Suspected Transfusion-Transmitted Disease Or Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI)

Response time is the interval between the order placement and the delivery of components. If the component is routinely stored by Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, delivery can be completed more quickly than if the component is available only through special request. As deliveries are normally prioritized based on need, response time is also affected by the other requests being made on the blood supply by the hospitals served.

Our goal is to deliver blood products in as timely a manner as possible. Events like weather or traffic may cause delays, but we have taken steps to reduce the potential impact of these factors. The routine production and storage of large numbers of Leukocyte-Reduced Red Blood Cells, Platelet Concentrates, Fresh Frozen Single Donor Plasma, and Cryo-precipitated Antihemophilic Factor make these components readily available at almost all times. Additionally, the maintenance of adequate levels of blood inventory in each hospital served helps keep emergency needs to a minimum.

When delivery time is critical, hospital personnel should ask if there is any unusual circumstance that might delay delivery beyond normal travel time. Additionally, if we detect any unforeseen complications, our team members should provide appropriate notification to the hospital.

• STAT- Term used to describe a situation for which any unnecessary delay in the provision of services will be, in the opinion of the physician, life-endangering to a particular patient. STAT deliveries are 10 or fewer units of red blood cells or platelets and will be consigned or shipped within 10 minutes of receipt of order. Additional time will be needed for additional products, products that must be located, frozen products, special requests such as antigen negative, CMV, sickle cell, or irradiation. The actual delivery time may vary for each STAT and can be affected by traffic or weather conditions.
• ASAP- Any time-sensitive delivery of a product. ASAP delivery times should be agreed upon between The Blood Center staff and ordering hospital.
• Stock-  An order whose purpose is to increase the hospital inventory to an optimal level. Stock order requests could be affected by product availability. Stock order deliveries within 55 miles of The Blood Center are generally complete within six to eight hours.
• Trade- The replacement of a short-dated unit with a fresher unit.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center invoices hospitals for the cost of the components provided, less the cost of those products the hospital returns for which credit is approved. The total charges associated with any particular component provided in a given month will be determined according to these criteria by the following formula: (Quantity provided x cost of the component) – (Quantity of allowable units returned for credit x cost of the component).

• Consignment Ticket and Hospital Report of Returned Blood and Blood Component forms prepared as a part of the delivery or return process are utilized as a basis for the monthly billing statements.
• Consignment Ticket forms are utilized whenever Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center provides a component to one of the hospitals it serves for which a charge is intended.
• Hospital Report of Returned Blood and Blood Component forms are utilized whenever Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center accepts a component from a hospital for which Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is allowed to give financial credit.

At the time a delivery or return transaction is completed, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center provides the hospital with a copy of the form used to record the transaction. These copies are intended to act as the hospital’s record that the transaction occurred. The original of each form serves as Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s evidence of the transaction. Copies of each form utilized during a given month will be incorporated into that month’s billing statement to indicate the legitimacy of each debit or credit associated with a given product.

The technologist who signs for the delivery or return of components must check all entries for accuracy. If one hospital shares its inventory from Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center with another hospital, an agreement must already be in place for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to issue credit. The original hospital must complete and return a Hospital Report of Returned Blood and Blood Components form. Credit will not be issued until Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center receives official evidence of the transfer.

For your convenience hospital billing statements are available online. Billing is also available through the online ordering system.

Early payment processing: Earn a 1 percent quarterly rebate by making payment by the 15th of the following month, for all months within a quarter.

Joint Recruitment Program: Receive financial credit for hosting blood drives and achieving donation goals.

Usage consultation: We can offer suggestions to help manage your inventory efficiently. Our physicians are available for consultation as well.

Blood Component Order Number: (713) 791-6250

Call 24 hours a day to order components for transfusion routinely stocked by Hospital Services. (i.e. red cells, platelets, plasma, cryo, CMV-negative products and irradiated products).

Hospital Services Emergency Phone Numbers: (713) 791-9307 or (713) 791-9308

In the unusual event the Blood Component Order number is not answered within approximately 10 rings, utilize our emergency telephone numbers to place blood orders.

Consultation On Call (713) 791-6286

For issues concerning Autologous and Directed donations, this line is answered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Messages left on voicemail are answered 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Calls received after 11 p.m. are returned the following day after 7 a.m.

Special Components: (713) 791-6284

Call 24 hours a day for:

• Red blood cells negative for blood group antigens other than ABO/Rh
• Washed red blood cells (hospitals must provide the indication for washing)
• Frozen/deglycerolized red blood cells (coordinate processing and delivery for patients who require rare blood)

Immunohematology Reference Laboratory: (713) 791-6286

Call 24 hours a day for assistance in resolving serological problems encountered in pre-transfusion testing, i.e., ABO discrepancies, unexpected antibodies, etc.

Business Office: (713) 791-6383

Call Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 4 p.m., to discuss monthly billing statements or any other administrative function.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center main switchboard: (713) 790-1200

Our operator is available Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Beth Hartwell

VP of Operations: Marc Lewis

Medical Director: Daniel Welder, M.D., MPH, (713) 791-6658

Director, Technical Services: Cheri Jennings, (713) 791-6316

Director, Business Development: Steve Ruth, (713) 791-6202

Director, Product Management Ronda Perguson, (713) 791-6344

Operations Manager, Hospital Services: Mike Duke, (713) 791-6214