Blood Bank of Alaska unsure how to fully fund testing lab after Dunleavy veto

The Blood Bank of Alaska is unsure how it will fully fund a long-sought donor testing laboratory in the state after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed funding for the nonprofit.

An in-state testing lab would be a critical component of making Alaska’s blood bank self-sufficient, according to management. The nonprofit requested $2 million from the Legislature this year for materials and training to open the lab. Dunleavy vetoed $500,000 of the blood bank’s funding from the capital budget last month.

In an interview last week, Bob Scanlon, the longtime CEO of the Blood Bank of Alaska, was upbeat about the funding allocated by legislators.

“We’re very gratified that the Legislature and the governor granted us $1.5 million of the $2 million that we requested,” he said.

The Blood Bank of Alaska requires around 100 units of blood per day. The nonprofit supplies all 23 Alaska hospitals with blood in the event of a state emergency declaration. It also supplies 21 of 23 Alaska hospitals with blood for emergencies and day-to-day medical uses, such as for car crashes and in treatments for certain cancers.

State Rep. Genevieve Mina, D-Anchorage, supported funding for the Blood Bank of Alaska, and said “it was disappointing to see” Dunleavy’s veto. There are added costs and challenges associated with shipping blood out of state, she said.

“The blood bank is a huge public health need, and it benefits our state,” she said.

Currently, blood is flown from Alaska to a lab in Minneapolis to test for viruses like HIV/AIDS and the West Nile virus before it’s used for donations in Alaska. But that system can be fragile.

In 2009, Redoubt volcano erupted for months, canceling hundreds of flights to and from Anchorage. Two years ago, a massive blizzard in the Midwest meant the Blood Bank of Alaska was unable to send blood to Minnesota for eight days, Scanlon said.

“We came really perilously close to not having any blood on the shelf,” he said about both incidents.

The Blood Bank of Alaska has wanted to build an in-state lab and secure Alaska’s blood supply for for well over a decade. The blood bank bought a new, largely state-funded building with space for a lab in 2016. But strained state finances halted progress.

Two years ago, the nonprofit secured $2 million from the Legislature to build the lab. Equipment was purchased that is now gathering mothballs, Scanlon said. The latest $2 million request would help purchase reagents and pay for training ahead of the lab getting licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he added.

Scanlon said there would be internal discussions at the blood bank about how to proceed after the veto. The goal is to open a testing lab in around a year, he added.

Blood Bank management is hoping that “something positive” will happen to complete funding. But Scanlon said he’s unsure where that funding will come from. He said the need for an in-state testing lab is too critical to delay any longer.

“We still have the shortfall, but we’re going to get going on this,” he said. “So we’re going to take a leap of faith.”

State Sen. Cathy Giessel, an Anchorage Republican and a retired nurse, said a donor testing lab would be “critical for Alaska’s safety” and a key aspect of making the state sustainable.

Referring to vetoes Dunleavy made to improve infrastructure improvement projects, she asked rhetorically, “How is this saving us money?” She said the state’s spending plan had a surplus before the governor vetoed $230 million from the operating and capital budgets.

“For crying out loud, we can save ourselves into oblivion,” Giessel said.

As for the specific $500,000 Blood Bank veto, Giessel said she had “not heard a specific rationale at all” from the governor’s office.

Like the vast majority of Dunleavy’s vetoes, the cut to the Blood Bank of Alaska was explained as being needed “to preserve general funds for savings and fiscal stability.” When asked to provide more details, Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said last week by email, “we have nothing to add beyond that.”