Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BioBridge Global is naming its QualTex Laboratory facility in the Atlanta metro area in honor of longtime executive Dr. Norman D. Kalmin.
Dr. Kalmin worked for the organization for more than 30 years, including 27 as its chief executive. He retired in 2013 after leading the development and opening of the laboratory in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross.
The Dr. Norman D. Kalmin Laboratory performs FDA-required testing on blood and blood plasma donations, and it recently has added a microbiology laboratory to perform specialized testing. BioBridge Global and QualTex Laboratories have approximately 60 employees in Norcross.
QualTex Laboratories was formed in 2007 to perform FDA-required testing on blood donations at South Texas Blood & Tissue, which also is a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit BioBridge Global.
The Norcross location opened in 2011 to serve as a backup testing location and perform testing for clients in the South and East.
In 2020, it became the first commercial location for the Abbott a3600 Accelerator automation system, which dramatically increased testing speed and efficiency. A second automation system was added in San Antonio, and together the labs produce more than 50 million test results a year.
Dr. Kalmin was hired in 1983 as medical director of what was then known as the South Texas Regional Blood Bank. He became its senior executive two years later.
“Coming to this organization, I knew it was really ripe for innovation and development,” he said in an interview in 2023. “Fortunately, we had a board that was willing to work with me.
“We also had wonderful staff – senior management, mid-level management, all the way to the bench level. Everybody during those years was very supportive and open to new ideas.”
Under his leadership, the organization was transformed from a regional blood bank into one that included testing services, posthumous tissue collection and distribution, and work on the development of new cell-based therapies. It added a fundraising subsidiary, The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation, in 2001.
The number of employees grew from 150 to more than 600, and the organization began working with clients across the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia and Australia. It also became the first blood bank in the United States to earn ISO certification.
In 2006, he was named to the 12-member board of the International Society of Blood Transfusion, a 65-nation organization dedicated to improving blood collections around the world.
A native of South Africa, Dr. Kalmin’s first work in the United States was a fellowship with the American Red Cross blood bank in Atlanta from 1979-83. He became a U.S. citizen while working on the fellowship.
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About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global is a San Antonio-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit healthcare services enterprise that offers diverse services through its nonprofit subsidiaries – South Texas Blood & Tissue, QualTex Laboratories, BBG Advanced Therapies and The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BioBridge Global provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue, as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. The enterprise enables advances in the field of regenerative medicine and advanced therapies by providing access to starting materials, testing services and biomanufacturing and clinical trials support. BioBridge Global is committed to saving and enhancing lives through the healing power of human cells and tissue. Learn more at BioBridgeGlobal.org.
About QualTex Laboratories: QualTex Laboratories provides state-of-the-art biologic testing services on whole blood, plasma and human cells, tissue, and cellular- and tissue-based products for biotechnology and biopharmaceutical customers, as well as microbiology testing services. It is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit testing laboratories, and it features automated blood and plasma testing systems at its locations in Texas and Georgia. QualTex Laboratories is a subsidiary of BioBridge Global, a nonprofit organization comprising services for regenerative medicine and research to help patients in South Texas, the United States and worldwide. Learn more at QualTexlabs.org.