STBTC and the Harvard Forum on Healthcare Innovation

Dallas, Texas-based healthcare technology startup Bloodbuy is using South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) to pilot its technology in connection with Harvard Forum on Healthcare Innovation.

Once again taking the lead in cutting-edge medical research, STBTC and BioBridge Global will figure prominently in a Harvard Business School case study that will be presented by the Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School's at the Forum on Healthcare Innovation conference in April. Researchers from Harvard Business School will be touring STBTC operations on Friday, Feb. 6, to gather information to write the study.

The road to Harvard began with STBTC’s participation in a pilot program by Bloodbuy, a Dallas, Texas-based health care technology company. Bloodbuy has developed technology that connects hospitals that need blood with the blood centers that have it via a cloud-based search engine that enhances blood supply chain efficiency and pricing transparency.

Bloodbuy began its pilot with STBTC last fall. STBTC assisted the company by implementing and troubleshooting its platform and using its 40 years’ worth of expertise at filling hospital orders to help Bloodbuy improve its cloud-based application. “STBTC was a clear choice to participate in our pilot program because of the organization’s forward-thinking approach to problem-solving and interest in helping patients anywhere it can,” said Chris Godfrey, founder and CEO of Bloodbuy.

“Our mission is to bring hope to patients and their families – in Texas and beyond,” said Elizabeth Waltman, COO of the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center. “We were thrilled when Bloodbuy approached us to help them refine their business because it means the generosity of our donors can reach those in need anywhere in the nation.”

Also last year, Bloodbuy entered the inaugural Health Acceleration Challenge, sponsored by Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School. According to its website, the contest focused on compelling, already-implemented health care solutions with potential for growth. Bloodbuy is one of four finalists out of nearly 500 entries from around the world, which means it will share in a $150,000 prize.

The case study Harvard Business School writes about it will be presented at the invitation-only Forum on Health Care Innovation conference this April. If Bloodbuy is selected as the winner at the conference, it’ll be awarded additional prize money and further recognition of its innovative platform.

Godfrey of Bloodbuy says he’s confident his company has a good chance at winning the big prize with the help of STBTC. “The technical input and user feedback we’ve received from STBTC team members has been integral in shaping Bloodbuy into the innovative technology solution that it is today,” he said. Waltman added that having a role in this type of innovation reinforces two key points about STBTC: “We are more than a blood bank. The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is a major player in the future of health care, as evidenced in this project and other recent projects such as assisting in Ebola therapeutic research,” she said. “And we are patient-centric. If there’s an opportunity to help someone down the road, across the country or on the other side of the world, we have the capability and desire to do it.”