According to a new technical market research report, The Blood Industry (HLC008F) from BCC Research, the U.S. blood industry was worth $7.2 billion in 2007. It should reach $9.5 billion by 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7%.

The market is broken down into applications of blood therapeutics, and collection and processing including blood donor screening, blood typing equipment and supplies, collection and transfusion products, processing equipment, supplies and disposables. Of these, the blood therapeutics segment has the largest share of the market. Valued at more than $5.5 billion in 2007, this segment is expected to be worth $7.3 billion by 2012, a CAGR of 5.7%.

The collection and processing segment was worth $1.6 billion in 2007 and will reach $2.2 billion by 2012, for a CAGR of 6.3%.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the U.S. blood supply is among the safest and largest in the world. The American Red Cross collected four million units of blood in 1943. By 2001, with the advent of community blood centers and others collecting blood donations, the number grew to 18 million units of whole blood and red blood cells in 2004, the latest year for which data is available. The use of automated instruments has increased the pace of the industry and is now the primary method for blood and plasma collection. Also, the ability to collect two units of red blood cells (RBCs) from a single donor is speeding up the donation process.

The driving forces impacting the U.S. blood industry are the cost of collection and processing, technological advances, an aging population and the changes in the incidence of diseases and surgical procedures and catastrophes requiring blood transfusions. These will continue to influence the exciting dynamics of the industry.