Our History

About us

Houchin Community Blood Bank is a non-profit service organization.

We are committed to being the sole provider of a safe, adequate blood supply from volunteer blood donors for the purpose of saving the lives of the residents of Kern County.

Houchin Community Blood Bank is the only blood bank in Kern County and supplies the blood for all of the hospitals throughout the county. We also provide blood to private cancer and blood disease treatment facilities, dialysis centers and home health agencies specializing in home transfusion medicine.

We have approximately 65 employees and two locations and a very active mobile blood drive program.

Beginnings

HOUCHIN BLOOD BANK actually had its beginnings in the late 1940’s when a meeting was held in the offices of local Physicians, Drs. Coker, Crawley and Varney for the purpose of organizing a community non-profit Blood Bank to serve all areas and hospitals of Kern County. Representatives of this meeting were many of the organizations and groups of the county including PTA, the Women’s Club, Labor, the Press, the Ministerial Association, Inter- Sorority Council and others who gave a complete cross section of the community.

For many years doctors had desired a more convenient supply of blood for emergency medical treatment.  At that time, there was no Blood Bank in Kern County making it very difficult to supply the emergency needs of the area hospitals.  Deliveries from Los Angeles and San Francisco took days. Kern General Hospital (KMC today), was the only location that blood was drawn and tested for syphilis and irregular antibodies and then transfused into the patients of Kern County. So it was natural that the movement to start a Blood Bank should come through the Kern County Medical Society.

In 1951 the members of the Kern County Medical Society met with Mr. Houchin, a prominent member of the group) regarding a commitment for a site to locate the future building. (Our current “G” Street location) Through the generosity of the Houchin Foundation (and in memory of Sarah Alice Houchin – his mother) the land and an endowment fund was donated to see the Blood Bank through to completion. The Blood Bank doors opened in April 1952. 

We’ve come a long way…
When the blood bank first started, blood was drawn into glass vacuum bottles and the only product available was whole blood. A test for syphilis and a test for irregular antibodies were routinely preformed. If the plasma looked “yellow,” a test for bilirubin was done.

In 1965, the blood bank began using plastic bags for the blood collection system and took the daring step of beginning to make components, such as packed red cells and plasma. Testing had also begun for hepatitis.

Today…
With the advent of AIDS, many changes have taken place in the blood banking industry. Houchin now performs 12 different tests on the blood and each donation is tested regardless of how many times someone has donated blood.

To meet the ever-increasing demand for blood and blood components, Houchin Blood Bank has introduced a new donation opportunity called “Trima” Automated Blood Collection System that optimizes blood donations. Trima is capable of collecting 15 different component configurations of platelets, plasma and red cells from one donor in one donation without compromising the donor’s safety.

With two locations and a very busy mobile schedule, the blood bank continually strives to recruit new donors and assure that the blood supply is always there for our community.

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