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San Diego Blood Bank

EIN 95-1696732 · San Diego, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak40 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK (SDBB) IS A CALIFORNIA NOT-FOR-PROFIT PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION ESTABLISHED IN 1950. THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK COLLECTS, PROCESSES, STORES AND DISTRIBUTES BLOOD COMPONENTS THAT MEETS OR EXCEEDS THE NEEDS OF EACH COMMUNITY WE SERVE AND PROVIDE A VARIETY OF SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF ONGOING AND EMERGING BLOOD AND TRANSFUSION-RELATED ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH.

Income
$52.9 million
Spending
$52.4 million
Spent on programs
79%
Reserves
-0.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 96%
Employees
396
Volunteers
472
Highest pay
$421,254, ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Weak: 40 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    0 of 35

    Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.

  • Debt

    10 of 20

    It owes 49% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    12 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 1% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    8 of 15

    79% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 36 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100.

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    17 of 17 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, 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 (3)
  1. $39.6 million spent. THE BLOOD BANK COLLECTS, STORES, AND DISTRIBUTES BLOOD PRODUCTS. IN ADDITION, THE BLOOD BANK PROVIDES THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION'S HOSPITALS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF BLOOD BANKING SERVICES. THESE INCLUDE BLOOD COLLECTION, COMPONENT PREPARATION, PLATELETPHERESIS, PLASMAPHERESIS, LEUKAPHERESIS, WASHED BLOOD, FROZEN BLOOD, AUTOLOGOUS STORAGE, DESIGNATED DONATION SERVICES AND A REFERENCE LABORATORY. THE CELL THERAPY PROGRAM OF THE BLOOD BANK OPERATES THE CORD BLOOD PROGRAM, PROVIDING LIFESAVING STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS TO PATIENTSWORLDWIDE. THE BLOOD BANK ACQUIRES BLOOD PRINCIPALLY BY DONATION AND, TO SOME EXTENT, BY PURCHASE FROM OTHER BLOOD CENTERS. THE BLOOD BANK ALSO COLLABORATES WITH OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY WELLNESS AND WITH RESEARCHERS FOR FUTURE MEDICAL ADVANCES.OVER 400 UNITS OF WHOLE BLOOD MUST BE COLLECTED DAILY FROM VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONORS TO SUFFICIENTLY MEET THE NEEDS OF HOSPITALS AND PATIENTS SERVED BY THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK. WE CONTINUALLY MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE OF OUR ON-GOING NEED FOR BLOOD. EACH YEAR MORE THAN 100,000 DONORS RECEIVE FREE BASIC HEALTH SCREENINGS PRIOR TO DONATING BLOOD. THE HOSPITALS WE SERVE ALSO BENEFIT FROM FREE TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAMS. THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK PROVIDES MORE THAN 165,000 BLOOD COMPONENTS ANNUALLY TO MORE THAN 50 HOSPITALS IN SAN DIEGO, IMPERIAL, ORANGE, RIVERSIDE AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES. THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK PRIMARILY REACHES OUT TO THE NEARLY 3.1 MILLION PEOPLE RESIDING IN SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL COUNTIES, WHILE THE 50 HOSPITALS SERVED BY THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK THROUGHOUT THE FIVE COUNTIES HAVE A COMBINED POPULATION OF OVER 17.6 MILLION.
  2. $1.7 million spent. RESEARCH AND CORD BLOOD ACTIVITIES - THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK OFFERS A VARIETY OF BLOOD AND CELL-BASED RESEARCH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR RESEARCHERS IN ACADEMIA AND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES. BLOOD BANK PRODUCTS INCLUDE WHOLE BLOOD, WHITE BLOOD CELLS, PLATELETS, PLASMA AND SERUM COMPONENTS FOR RESEARCH USE. ADDITIONALLY, THE SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK'S CELL THERAPY AND CORD BLOOD BANK UNIT OFFERS CORD BLOOD, CORD BLOOD CELL FRACTIONS, CORD BLOOD PLASMA AND RELATED COMPONENTS TO RESEARCHERS. WE ARE A CGMP COMPLIANT FACILITY AND HAVE A VARIETY OF ASSAY AND ANALYTICAL SERVICES ON BLOOD AND CELL THERAPY PRODUCTS AS WELL AS BLOOD AND TISSUE SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR GENOMICS-BASED ANALYSES. ALL PRODUCTS OFFERED FOR RESEARCH ARE OBTAINED UNDER FULL CONSENT FOR RESEARCH USE FROM OUR DONORS AND COLLECTED UNDER CGMP COMPLIANCE GUIDELINES. THESE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE GAINING PUBLIC CORD BLOOD BANK ACCREDITATION FROM THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BLOOD BANKING (AABB). THIS GIVES THE SDBB CORD BLOOD BANK FULL ACCREDITATION FOR ALL ASPECTS OF CORD BLOOD BANKING, INCLUDING COLLECTION, PROCESSING, STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CORD BLOOD. THESE CORD BLOOD UNITS ARE BEING LISTED WITH THE NATIONAL MARROW DONOR PROGRAM (NMDP) AS A LIFE-SAVING THERAPY FOR PATIENTS IN NEED OF A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT. THE SDBB CORD BLOOD BANK COLLECTS DONATED CORD BLOOD FROM MULTIPLE HOSPITALS IN THE GREATER SAN DIEGO REGION AS WELL AS IN THE GREATER SACRAMENTO REGION OF CALIFORNIA.
  3. $254,504 spent. THE ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM UNDER DIRECTION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH IS PART OF AN EFFORT TO ADVANCE INDIVIDUALIZED HEALTH CARE BY ENROLLING ONE MILLION OR MORE PARTICIPANTS TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR HEALTH DATA OVER MANY YEARS. THE PROGRAM AIMS TO REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THE UNITED STATES AND TO INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS FROM GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERREPRESENTED IN HEALTH RESEARCH IN THE PAST. WORKING TOGETHER, ALL OF US RESEARCHERS, PARTNERS, AND PARTICIPANTS AIM TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR HEALTH CARE. THE GOAL OF ALL OF US IS TO SPEED UP HEALTH RESEARCH DISCOVERIES, ENABLING NEW KINDS OF INDIVIDUALIZED HEALTH CARE. TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE, THE PROGRAM IS BUILDING ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST DIVERSE DATABASES FOR HEALTH RESEARCH. SAN DIEGO BLOOD BANK IS A MAJOR RESEARCH PARTNER IN THE ALL OF US PROGRAM, COLLECTING BLOOD SAMPLES AND OTHER HEALTH DATA FROM A DIVERSE DEMOGRAPHIC POPULATION, BUILDING A DATA PLATFORM THAT MANY RESEARCHERS CAN USE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since May 1956.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.