By Alana Mauger

The American Red Cross joins organizations across the U.S. to celebrate the 51st Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, observed April 19-25, recognizing clinical and public health laboratory professionals for their contributions to the health of our communities. The Red Cross employs more than 2,200 laboratory and manufacturing team members who work across 116 laboratories and product distribution facilities nationwide. Together, these teams process, test and distribute approximately 6.3 million blood products each year.

Philadelphia serves as the headquarters of the American Rare Donor Program, a collaboration between the American Red Cross and the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB). The city is also home to two national Red Cross laboratories—The National Reference Laboratory for Specialized Testing (NRLST) and The National Molecular Laboratory (NML)—as well as one of five Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Testing Labs and the largest of 44 Immunohematology Reference Laboratories (IRL) in the U.S. 

All blood products collected in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are processed in Philadelphia’s Manufacturing Lab at the Spring Garden Campus, which is the largest Red Cross facility in the U.S.

Meet Our Team

Lab professionals like Connor Klee and Timothy Hall work every day, 365 days/year to ensure requested blood components are available to patients when and where needed.

As a specialized testing technologist in the National Reference Laboratory for Specialized Testing in Philadelphia, Connor Klee performs tests on samples from patients with rare platelet antibodies to identify matches. He also screens blood donations to identify matches for patients being treated for sickle cell disease.

Before joining the Red Cross two years ago, Connor worked in cellular therapy for a university hospital, performing procedures to help clinical trial patients.

“I love that I can help people with specialized medical needs get the treatment they need using components made by the body itself,” said Connor. “Being a part of making the American Rare Blood Donor Program possible feels truly special.” 

As a supervisor in the National Molecular Laboratory (NML) in Philadelphia, Timothy Hall provides both technical and personnel supervision of the laboratory’s molecular testing operations. He oversees genotyping processes used for blood antigen phenotype prediction to ensure accurate, reliable and compliant results to support patient care.

“What I enjoy most about my current role is the opportunity to encounter novel cases on a regular basis,” he said. “The complexity of blood antigen genetics makes each case unique and intellectually engaging, requiring thoughtful analysis and problem-solving.” 

Career Opportunities

The American Red Cross has a variety of career opportunities in Laboratory Services and Manufacturing. To learn more about available roles, visit the career center at redcross.org.