LAKEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terumo BCT announces the launch of the Blood Safety Innovation Award. The international award is designed to support scientific and clinical research to enable new advances in blood safety in hematology, immunology and other related fields with up to $100,000 in grants. Clinicians, researchers and scientists at academic institutions and associations who are interested in blood safety across all device platforms are encouraged to submit Expressions of Interest, by the Dec. 31, 2012 deadline.

Key Facts:

• The Blood Safety Innovation Award is intended to encourage the investigation of novel scientific ideas, and new concepts, procedures and/or methodologies that have the potential to substantially advance blood safety.
• Applicants must submit an Expression of Interest by Dec. 31^st to be considered for the award.
• All Expressions of Interest submitted will be reviewed by the Grant Committee; the Grant Committee will request that finalists complete a Full Submission.
• The Grant Committee consists of representatives from the Terumo BCT Medical Affairs and Clinical Affairs teams, as well as three independent specialists.
• Each application will be reviewed based on the fundamentals of scientific merit, availability of funds and relevance to the priorities of the award program, as well as other application criteria.
• Expenses covered and details about grant recipient responsibilities are available online and by contacting the grant administrators.
• The grant administrators reserve the right to withhold all or partial grant funds based on the quality of submissions.
• Terumo BCT announced on September 10, 2012, that it has awarded a $100,000 research grant to support the investigation of an innovative proposal in therapeutic apheresis, underscoring Terumo BCT’s commitment to continuous learning and advancing blood and blood safety initiatives that touch the lives of donors and patients.

Key Quotes:

Eric Buenz, Ph.D., Director, Medical Affairs

"We are excited to announce the Terumo BCT Blood Safety Innovation Award as a great opportunity to provide support to those in the field with innovative ideas and applications, and novel approaches that will enhance blood safety measures for the benefit of patients in need of transfusion support."

About Terumo BCT:

Terumo BCT, a global leader in blood component, therapeutic apheresis and cellular technologies, is the only company with the unique combination of apheresis collections, manual and automated whole blood processing, and pathogen reduction coupled with leading technologies in therapeutic apheresis and cell processing. We believe in the potential of blood to do even more for patients than it does today. This belief inspires our innovation and strengthens our collaboration with customers.