[2] The Edinburgh Blood Transfusion Service (EBTS) was established in 1936 with Jack Copland as Organiser and Helen White as Secretary.

The first meeting of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association (SNBTA) took place in Edinburgh in February 1940.

[citation needed] In the 1940s Helen White played a key role in the development of the blood donor service in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland, on her initiative a network of voluntary organisers was established.

[citation needed] In November 2011 it was announced that a new national centre would be built within the Heriot-Watt research park in Edinburgh, and would include labs, offices and other facilities.

[5] The new centre is due to be completed in 2017 and has been funded using the Scottish Government's Non Profit Distributing (NPD) model.