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Show Two groups sign blood agreement An agreement setting up a national reciprocal system to facilitate blood replacement and utilize blood supplies more effectively was signed by the American National Red Cross and the American Assn. of Blood Banks. The new exchange of blood and blood credits replaces the original agreement which the two organizations developed in 1961, the ACR said. Since that time, more than 600,000 replacement re-placement credits and units of blood have been exchanged between be-tween the two groups. The purpose of the new agreement is to make pissible the exchange of blood and donor do-nor replacement credits between be-tween banks and regional centers cen-ters as a service and convenience conven-ience for patients and donors who do not live in the same community, the ACR said. The reciprocity system makes possible more efficient utilization of perishable blood supplies by enabling the transfer trans-fer of blood surplus from one bank or center to fill blood shortages in another ,the ACRj said. "There is no question that the .cooperative program will be beneficial to thousands of donors do-nors and patients, and we are confident that many more advantages ad-vantages will accrue as we continue con-tinue to plan and confer together," to-gether," said George Hummer, MD, president of the AABB. More than five million units of blood are transfused annually annu-ally in the U.S., the ARC said, and a steady increase is expected ex-pected as new medical and surgical sur-gical techniques are developed U. N. takes steps toward population plan. Nicklaus wins U. S. Open, with 275, a record. |