News Release April 27, 2005

Hemo-Net Lends Support to Safe Blood for Africa Project

For more information contact:
Julie Wedding 303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center

DENVER (April 27, 2005) - Hemo-Net, a Bonfils Blood Center subsidiary, recently took its operation and expertise worldwide by becoming the application service provider for Safe Blood for Africa. Hemo-Net’s role is to provide all the computer support, database management and monitoring necessary to manage the safety of donor information and the blood supply to yield improvements in Africa’s blood collection and transfusion practices.

Safe Blood for Africa assists sub-Saharan African countries in securing a safe blood supply for its citizens. The project also hopes to prevent the spread of many common blood-borne diseases and reduce the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS through blood transfusion. The Safe Blood for Africa program is providing blood safety support in 34 sub-Saharan countries.

The National Blood Transfusion Service of Nigeria was also designed and established by Safe Blood for Africa in cooperation and partnership with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, Nigeria. The Abuja center is the first of many that will become a nationwide network of blood centers and blood safety projects.

The Abuja center replaced standard, manual record keeping processes with automated solutions to manage all donor information, including testing, by implementing the same donor tracking system Bonfils Blood Center and many other U.S. blood centers use. Pertinent donor data is entered by blood center personnel in Africa and is securely transmitted via satellite to Hemo-Net’s two separate data centers located in Denver, further ensuring the safety and accessibility of the information for the blood center.

“Hemo-Net has done a terrific job in helping us set up this vital program in Nigeria that when fully implemented will save hundreds of thousands of lives from HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C,” said Jeff Busch, chairman of Safe Blood for Africa Foundation.

More information about Safe Blood for Africa's Abuja Center

Hemo-Net offers more than 30 years of technical computer experience, specializing in blood donor management and transfusion medicine software applications. As an application service provider, Hemo-Net partners with Wyndgate Technologies to provide quality service in helping blood centers advance their donor tracking, safety and disaster protection. Hemo-Net is a subsidiary of Bonfils Blood Center.