Versiti - Press Releases | Versiti
Explore our service lines

Press Release

Versiti Joins Blood and Cells Advocacy Roster Think-Tank Consortium

Milwaukee — July 10, 2026
BCAR Blood & Cells Advocacy Roster Logo

Versiti, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving blood health for patients everywhere, announced it has joined the Blood and Cells Advocacy Roster (BCAR) consortium to help advance collaboration between the traditional blood sector and the broader healthcare industry, including biopharma and the rapidly growing advanced therapy industry. 

BCAR is an industry collaboration between blood and tissue collection networks, related technology providers, biotherapy communities, and other stakeholders that communicates the importance of blood and increasing patient access to life-saving blood and advanced therapies. The nine members of the group are uniquely positioned to pool collective capabilities in order to better understand and address the needs of patients, including an upcoming AI-based data initiative to optimize the blood needs of the underserved sickle cell disease community. Versiti’s experience in blood collection, diagnostics, research, cellular therapy support, and translational medicine will make the company an invaluable member as the partner organizations continue to highlight the importance of blood and access to blood-based therapies, as well as how existing blood-industry infrastructure can support the evolving needs of cell and gene therapy developers.

“Versiti’s participation in the consortium reflects growing industry interest in expanding the impact of global blood health expertise to benefit patient needs,” said Michelle Boxall, BCAR Founder. “Many of the fundamental operational capabilities ensuring broad access to blood products today are the same ones needed to support other areas of the sector, especially the future of advanced therapies. We welcome the addition of Versiti to our collaborative expertise, helping extend our reach even further.”

“BCAR recognizes the value of established donor recruitment systems, regulated processing environments, logistics capabilities and strong hospital partnerships to advance blood therapies while helping address manufacturing and supply chain challenges in cell and gene therapies,” said Brian Bautista, executive vice president of Versiti Clinical Trials Services. “We look forward to applying our experience to support innovation across the advanced therapy and blood therapy ecosystems.”

About Blood and Cells Advocacy Roster (BCAR)

The Blood and Cells Advocacy Roster (BCAR) is an industry collaboration between blood and tissue collection networks, related technology providers, biotherapy communities, and other stakeholders with an interest in driving the narrative on the importance of blood and increasing patient access to life-saving blood and advanced therapies. The steering committee includes members from America's Blood Centers (ABC), Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB), BioBridge Global, Blood Centers of America (BCA), OrganaBio, Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, Title21, Vitalant, and Versiti.

About Versiti

Versiti, a national leader in blood health innovation, was formed with the mission to improve the health of patients and enable the success of our healthcare partners nationally. We provide innovative, value-added solutions in the fields of transfusion medicine, transplantation, and blood-related diseases to meet the needs of each of our customers. The collective efforts across Versiti result in improved patient outcomes, expanded access to care, and cost efficiencies for healthcare systems nationwide. For more information, visit versiti.org.

Media Contact
Kristin Paltzer
 

Jorge Di Paola, MD, to Lead Versiti Blood Research Institute as EVP and Chief Scientific Officer

Nationally recognized physician-scientist and longtime collaborator joins Versiti executive leadership team to guide the next phase of blood health research and innovation.