Showcasing impressive foresight, Magen David Adom has successfully built a subterranean, shielded blood bank and processing center, designed to protect Israel’s strategic blood reserves from missile, chemical and biological attack, as well as from earthquakes.
A first in the entire world, the new Marcus National Blood Services Center has a 3230 square foot safe room, which has been constructed as a blood storage vault. It will house Israel’s strategic inventory of 25,000 blood components, safeguarding it in times of war.
Source: No Camels (Courtesy)
The shielded area, which includes extra-thick concrete walls, blast doors, and airlocks, as well as biological and chemical protection, extends across three subterranean floors.
Set to be inaugurated this week, the total cost of building this unique project amounted to $135 million, funded primarily by American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA). The services are planned to be fully operational by the end of the year.
According to professor Eilat Shinar, director of MDA’s National Blood Services Division, the facility will allow Israel to provide increased blood services, with excellent quality, and in a very cutting edge, modern facility, that will enable the center to accommodate the country for the next 20-30 years.
Meanwhile, to ensure the highest levels of protection, and continuity of operations in war scenarios, every critical system has a secondary system, including two ramps leading into the underground floors, four sets of elevators and four generators.
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