Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Dr. Julia Frohlich, retiring president of the Hawaii
Blood Bank. She has been with the bank for 28 years.

Frohlich retires as
Blood Bank president

Trained as a pathologist,
she will continue to be
active in the community

---

By Steve Murray
Star-Bulletin

Dr. Julia Frohlich is retiring as president of the Blood Bank of Hawaii after 28 years.

"The Blood Bank of Hawaii is all that it is today because of the outstanding leadership and dedication of Dr. Frohlich," said Don Horner, chairman of the Blood Bank of Hawaii board of trustees.

"She helped found the Blood Bank and her excellent stewardship has produced the legacy of a community blood bank on the cutting edge of technology with an exceptional staff," Horner said.

In addition to her duties at the Blood Bank, Frohlich has been an associate pathologist at Queen's Medical Center and an assistant clinical professor of pathology at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Frohlich says she'll miss her co-workers the most, but adds: "I know it's in good hands. That's why it's easy to leave."

As the medical director and later president of the Blood Bank, Frohlich strived to modernize the operation.

She adopted screening tests before such procedures were mandated by the Federal Drug Administration, coordinated fund-raisers that resulted in building and equipping the Dillingham Blood Bank, established special training for advanced certification for medical technologists and established an alliance with the Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle that provides specialized products and services.

The 60-year-old Frohlich is not sure what is in store for her.

"I don't have definite plans except to be retired, pay more attention to my garden and visit my family on the mainland," Frohlich said.

Dr. Robyn Yim will succeed Frohlich as president of the Blood Bank. Frohlich said Yim is an excellent choice.

"I have worked with her for four years and she is very capable of doing the job," she said.

Although retired, Frohlich plans to continue to serve on the boards of First Hawaiian Bank, HMSA Foundation, Hawaii Opera Theatre and the Nature Conservancy.

"I'm not retiring from life, just my job," she said.