Creative Testing Solutions
Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.
What it says it does
TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMIZED LABORATORY TESTING SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS WITH THEIR LIFE SAVING MISSIONS.
- Income
- $495.4 million
- Spending
- $438.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 93%
- Reserves
- 2.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 99%
- Employees
- 1,236
- Volunteers
- 11
- Highest pay
- $1.2 million, president/ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 65 out of 100.
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.7 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 40% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 12% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 0% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1593% of spending went to programs.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 11 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (2)
- $403.3 million spent. DONOR TESTING BLOOD DONOR AND PLASMA TESTING SERVICES PROVIDED BY CREATIVE TESTING SOLUTIONS ("CTS") ARE ESSENTIAL TO ENSURING THE SAFETY OF THE NATION'S BLOOD AND PLASMA SUPPLY. THESE TESTING ACTIVITIES ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY AND MANDATED BY THE UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ("FDA") TO PROVIDE A SAFE BLOOD PRODUCT FOR TRANSFUSION TO PATIENTS AND TO ENSURE SAFETY OF PLASMA PRODUCTS. DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF HUMAN BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS, IT IS CRITICAL FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PURPOSES THAT BLOOD BE PROPERLY TESTED BEFORE BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR USE BY PATIENTS. A SAFE BLOOD SUPPLY IS CRITICAL TO THE WELL-BEING OF THE NATION'S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND ITS PATIENTS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TESTING OF BLOOD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY IS EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED IN THIS AGE OF THREATS FROM PANDEMICS AND TERRORISM. CREATIVE TESTING SOLUTIONS OPERATED EIGHT DONOR TESTING LABORATORIES IN 2024. OUR FIRST ESTABLISHED LABORATORY IS IN TEMPE, ARIZONA. THE ADDITIONAL LABORATORIES ARE LOCATED IN BEDFORD, TEXAS, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, SAN MARCOS, TEXAS, AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. THESE LOCATIONS ARE STRATEGICALLY POSITIONED NEAR MAJOR AIRPORTS IN PHOENIX, DALLAS, CHARLOTTE, ST. LOUIS AND TAMPA. THE FIVE DTL LABORATORIES ARE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) REGISTERED FACILITIES AND HOLD CURRENT CERTIFICATIONS FOR THE CLINICAL LABORATORY IMPROVEMENT ACT (CLIA) AS WELL AS ACCREDITATION WITH THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BLOOD BANKS (AABB), THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES AND STATE OF FLORIDA AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION. IN ADDITION TO DONOR SPECIMEN TESTING, THE LABORATORIES PARTICIPATE IN CLINICAL EVALUATION OF REAGENTS, TEST KITS, AND EQUIPMENT. CTS PROVIDES THE HIGHEST QUALITY IN TESTING AND SERVICE. THE LABORATORIES MAINTAIN INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAMS AND PARTICIPATE VOLUNTARILY IN EXTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAMS. BLOOD SPECIMENS ARE PROCESSED UTILIZING STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY WITH FDA LICENSED TEST KITS AND REAGENTS. ALL LABORATORIES ARE EQUIPPED WITH MULTIPLE AND REDUNDANT INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ROUTINE PROCESSING. ADDITIONALLY, EACH FACILITY ACTS AS A BACKUP LABORATORY TO THE OTHER CTS LABS. SPECIAL TESTING OUR SPECIAL TESTING LABORATORY IN THE PHOENIX AREA PERFORMS CONFIRMATORY AND SUPPLEMENTAL TESTING OF DONOR SAMPLES AS WELL AS NON-DONATION TESTING SUCH AS DONOR RE-ENTRY, POST EXPOSURE AND DONOR FOLLOW-UP. IT ALSO PROVIDES TESTING FOR EYE BANKS, TISSUE BANKS AND CORD BLOOD CENTERS. THE SPECIAL TESTING LABORATORIES ALSO COMPLY WITH CLIA, FDA, CA, NY, MD, AND FL STATE REGULATIONS. COMPONENT QUALITY CONTROL OUR COMPONENT QUALITY CONTROL LABORATORY IN PHOENIX PROVIDES BLOOD COMPONENT QUALITY CONTROL TESTING. RESIDUAL WHITE BLOOD CELL (RWBC) COUNTS ARE PERFORMED ON LEUKOREDUCED PRODUCTS. FACTOR VIII AND FIBRINOGEN ASSAYS ARE PERFORMED ON CRYOPRECIPITATE AND PLASMA PRODUCTS. BACTERIA DETECTION IS PERFORMED ON APHERESIS PLATELETS.
- $2.1 million spent. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THE CTS RESEARCH PROGRAM IS DEDICATED TO ADVANCING BLOOD SAFETY AND EVIDENCE-BASED TRANSFUSION PRACTICES THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. THE CTS RESEARCH PROGRAM FOCUSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND/OR EVALUATION OF NEW BLOOD DONOR SCREENING TECHNOLOGIES WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE AND PROMOTE BLOOD SAFETY IN THE AREAS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE, IMMUNOLOGY, MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS, AND EPIDEMIOLOGY. ADDITIONALLY, THE CTS RESEARCH PROGRAM SERVES AS THE FOCUS FOR A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL CONSORTIUM WHICH COLLECTS AND INTEGRATES TESTING DATA FROM A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE US BLOOD SUPPLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF NATIONAL HAEMOVIGILANCE, HORIZON SCANNING FOR EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES RELEVANT TO BLOOD SAFETY, AND PROVIDING CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR THE EVALUATION OF BEST PRACTICES IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE, THE PROMOTION OF DONOR HEALTH, AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSFUSION RECIPIENT OUTCOMES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.
The IRS master file records contributions to this 501(c)(3) charitable organization as not deductible.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2011.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.