Brian Custer becomes Director
2022
VRI new facility in SF opened
2022
Vitalant Innovation Center (VIC) opened in Denver
2021
Blood Systems becomes Vitalant
On September 24, 2018, BSRI announced our new name: Vitalant Research Institute.
2018
BSRI-Denver Campus Welcomes Dr. Larry J. Dumont as Senior Investigator and Associate Director
Dr. Larry J. Dumont brings to BSRI-Denver the important program to develop licensable platelet cryopreservation techniques under the sponsorship of the United States Army. This program, currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, is expected to extend the 5-day shelf life of platelets to more than 2 years.
2016
Blood Processing Methods Affect Microparticles and mtDNA Linked to Blood Transfusion Reactions
Scientists from BloodSystems Research Institute in San Francisco, California, and Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation lab in Edmonton, Alberta, report that specific red blood cell manufacturing methods may be less damaging to cells than others.
2016
US FDA LIFTS LIFETIME BAN ON MSM BLOOD DONATION
BSRI research supports safety of limited deferral period for men who have sex with men (MSM)
2015
amfAR Establishes San Francisco-Based Institute for HIV Cure Research
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, today announced the establishment of the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research, an innovative collaborative enterprise based at the University of California, San Francisco.
2015
Scientists Identify Effective and Novel Mechanisms to Block Chikungunya Virus
Scientists looking at the antiviral mechanisms of two previously identified human monoclonal antibodies have found they potentially inhibit chikungunya virus (CHIKV) at multiple stages of infection.
2015
BLOOD SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE CREATED
BSRI formally founded from the Scientific Services of Blood Centers of the Pacific.
2004
NHLBI REDS PROGRAM INITIATED
The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) was created to improve transfusion safety.
1989
TRANSFUSION-TRANSMITTED HIV
First case of transfusion-transmitted AIDS to a child reported by investigators at BSRI and UCSF.
1983
SCIENTIFIC SERVICES OF IRWIN MEMORIAL ESTABLISHED
In 1959, Irwin Memorial Blood Bank established its research program, laying the foundation for BSRI.
1959
IRWIN MEMORIAL BLOOD BANK FOUNDED
The first non-profit community blood bank in the US was founded in June, 1941
1941