Increased government regulation of the country’s donated blood supply is prompting many American Red Cross organizations nationwide to merge. The most recent merger, announced earlier this week, will blend American Red Cross blood services in Maine and Massachusetts with donation, processing and distribution operations in Vermont and New Hampshire.

The merger should not affect Red Cross donation sites or management in Maine, according to Melissa Croteau, a spokesman at American Red Cross regional headquarters in Dedham, Mass. In fact, Croteau said, service to donors and to hospitals in the four-state area should be enhanced by the change which is mostly administrative in nature.

Increased attention to the quality of the nation’s blood supply has resulted in more tests performed on each pint of blood donated through the American Red Cross. Before 1985, the Red Cross performed four tests on every unit of donated blood, according to Croteau. Now the organization performs nine tests, including tests for HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and HIV-2, a virus that causes AIDS that has appeared very rarely in the U.S. and has been traced to natives of Africa.

Recent changes have resulted in a consolidation of national testing sites from 56 national laboratories in 1992 to 10 national testing laboratories in 1994.

Croteau said increased-testing pressures were not the driving force behind the most recent merger which blends two longstanding New England organizations.

A press release states the merger “is being sought in order to provide optimal service to hospital patients in all four states while maximizing cost efficiency through economies of scale, centralization and consolidations.”

October was the 20th anniversary of American Red Cross blood services in Maine, according to Croteau. The organization began managing the state’s donated blood supply on a massive scale in 1974. From the start, Maine and Massachusetts were combined under one administrative umbrella in certain service areas. The team now will be enhanced by the addition of Vermont and New Hampshire.

The merger is expected to evolve in two phases. The administrative phase will begin this month while Phase Two will start next July. Phase Two will deal with changes in manufacturing, processing, computerization and other functions involving donated blood which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.