The new blood bank is designed to entice donors and improve efficiency. Donor stations are equipped with Internet access, movies on demand, and iPads.
There’s also hi-tech equipment to process emerging medical advances, like stem cells from umbilical cords.
Wednesday’s grand opening came just in time for the July 4th holiday, when blood is often in short supply but in high demand due to summer accidents.
The bank is asking for all blood types, but they especially need O-negative and A-negative.
The $20 million facility was paid for in part by the sale of the bank's former property in Hillcrest, where it had been housed since 1972.
The San Diego Blood Bank began in 1950 and currently supplies blood to about 50 hospitals throughout Southern California.
