Transfusion Medicine Fellowship

The UCLA Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine offers an ACGME-approved one-year training program in Transfusion Medicine during which Transfusion Medicine trainees develop expertise in Transfusion Medicine practice, transfusion service management, donor center operations and laboratory management. In addition, UCLA fellows will participate in Transfusion Medicine-based research and develop expertise in evaluating and implementing new techniques and laboratory procedures. Upon completion of our program, UCLA fellows will be qualified and ready to take on the responsibilities of Medical Director of a transfusion service, or a regional blood center.

The heart of the our program centers around two hospital-based transfusion services at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital which provide exposure to adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients. Thus, practical experience is gained through daily exposure to red cell type and screen procedures, antibody identification and complex serologic evaluations; transfusion reaction work-ups; daily blood component inventory analysis; special needs consultations (CMV specific, irradiated, washed, fresh, HLA-matched platelets, etc.); blood component therapy; massive transfusion protocol support for trauma, obstetric and transplant patients; evaluations for platelet refractoriness. The core of the learning comes from serving as part of our transfusion medicine consultation team, with trainees serving as first call for all problems. The physician calls are initiated either from requesting clinicians or from our own technical staff, as determined directly from our own laboratory policies. The team also consists of residents in anatomic/clinical pathology, and medical students.

The clinical caseload reflects the patient mix at both hospitals, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, providing care for tertiary/quaternary patients with a level I - designated trauma center, complex cardiovascular and transplantation programs, and a community-based practice, respectively. The supervision of the transfusion medicine team is under the direction of attending faculty members, who serve to carry on a continuing case-oriented learning process throughout the year. The trainees also interact in a more limited fashion with the other residents and fellows in our Pathology Department via joint conferences and clinical interactions. Additional interactions occur through consultations with other services including hematology, oncology, anesthesiology, pediatrics, surgery and maternal-fetal medicine.

Experience in blood center administration will be gained at the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center (BPC), which collects approximately 35,000 donations per year at two fixed sites and on mobile drives throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Through the BPC, the transfusion medicine fellow will participate in education and instruction on recruitment, donor suitability for autologous, directed and volunteer donors, blood collection, management of donor reactions, and donor testing. Additionally, the fellow will rotate through the UCLA Component Processing Laboratory for experience with blood product manufacturing.

Additional rotations through the American Red Cross Reference Laboratory, UCLA Immunogenetics (HLA) Center, Cedars-Sinai Therapeutic Apheresis Center, and City of Hope Apheresis Unit and Stem Cell Processing Laboratory complete our comprehensive fellowship training year. Finally, the fellow’s schedule allows for ample time for elective and research opportunities depending upon individual fellow interests.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:

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These positions are open to applicants who have completed training in a US ACGME accredited AP/CP or CP only residency program. Applicant must be Board eligible or Board certified. International medical school graduates will only be considered if they have completed residency training in a US ACGME accredited residency program. A California medical license is required on day one of appointment.

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