CEO Of Major Inland Empire Blood Bank To Step Down

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — Rick Axelrod, MD, MBA, president/CEO and medical director for LifeStream Blood Bank, will retire from his position next month, it was announced Thursday.

His last day is Sept. 18, 2023, and he plans to continue working as a medical director in Southern California, according to the announcement.

Axelrod joined the organization in June 2004 when it was known as the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. At the time, there were 275 employees serving 33 hospitals in two counties.

During his 19-year career, the organization has grown to include 425 employees serving 80 hospitals in six counties. Axelrod's tenure included adding five blood donation centers, two distribution centers, doubling the volume of LifeStream's reference laboratory business, adding new programs for stimulated granulocytes, stem cell and Dendreon collections and a therapeutic apheresis program serving patients across the entire Southern California region, according to the announcement.

Axelrod has been a vital part of the blood community at both the local and national levels. He has served as the primary voting industry representative for the Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee for Blood Safety and Availability; vice president, secretary and treasurer on the Board of Directors for America’s Blood Centers; and secretary on the board of directors for Blood Centers of California.

Locally, Axelrod has served as chairman on the board of directors for Desert Regional Medical Center, chairman on the board of directors for Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and was a member of the board of directors for the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In 2017, Axelrod received the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award from California State University, San Bernardino, as "nonprofit executive of the year."

Axelrod received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in anatomic and clinical pathology. He completed his fellowship in transfusion medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Axelrod's replacement was not announced.