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December 20, 2025 | 5:11pm
ROMBLON, Philippines — A Filipino expert in laboratory medicine has continued to draw recognition locally and abroad for work in Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine, a field vital to patient safety and modern healthcare systems.
Mark Angel Dela Cruz Magracia holds professional credentials, including MPHc, RMT and MLS (ASCPi) SBBiCM, reflecting advanced academic training and international certification in laboratory medicine and blood banking.
A native of Romblon and Las Piñas City, he has built a career focused on strengthening transfusion safety, advancing professional education and contributing to scientific dialogue in major laboratory medicine forums.
His work reached a significant milestone in 2025 when he was invited as one of only two Filipino speakers at the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Annual Meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia, from November 17 to 20, 2025.
The ASCP is among the largest global organizations in laboratory medicine, convening specialists in pathology, transfusion medicine, diagnostics and clinical laboratory science.
At the meeting, Magracia presented “Who’s DAT Typing: Preventing Misphenotyping in Cases of Warm Autoantibody Interference,” which addressed diagnostic interference that may lead to incorrect blood antigen typing and increased transfusion risk.
His lecture emphasized practical strategies for resolving complex serologic challenges to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient safety. The same topic was first presented in the Philippines at the 41st Philippine Blood Coordinating Council (PBCC) Annual Convention in August 2025 at Crowne Plaza Manila, attended by blood bank professionals, physicians, nurses and transfusion medicine practitioners.
Magracia currently serves as System Blood Bank and Transfusion Services Technical Specialist and Team Lead of the Legacy Health Central Blood Bank in the Pacific Northwest, United States.
In this role, he supports complex transfusion services across multiple hospitals and conducts hundreds of advanced immunohematology and serologic investigations within Legacy Health facilities and affiliated outpatient clinics, including Compass Oncology and the Oregon Knight Cancer Institute (OKCI).
His responsibilities include validating laboratory instruments and procedures, implementing second-sample verification programs, developing automated blood typing policies, and supporting laboratory information system transitions such as SafeTrace. These initiatives ensure compliance with AABB, CAP, FDA and CLIA standards across six Legacy Health facilities in Oregon and Washington.
Amid ongoing laboratory workforce shortages in the United States, as reported by ASCP data, Magracia’s specialized expertise continues to support operational continuity, quality assurance and patient safety in high-complexity clinical laboratories.
In addition to clinical work, Magracia is active in professional education. He serves as an Ad Hoc Education, Scientific and Research Committee Expert in Immunohematology for PAMET-USA, delivering advanced educational sessions to medical technologists in the United States, the Philippines and other countries.
His expertise has also been recognized by the diagnostic industry. He is a key opinion leader for QuidelOrtho in the Philippine region and has served as a scientific speaker for Werfen in the United States and Europe, including the Werfen Portland Education Day, where he delivered two P.A.C.E.-accredited lectures on transfusion interference and the detection of low-prevalence antibodies.
He continues to collaborate with Werfen and is scheduled to present “When Antibodies Go MIA: Recognizing and Managing Low-Prevalence Alloantibody in Blood Bank” at the AABB Annual Meeting.
His academic outreach extends to institutions in the United States, including Idaho State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology, as well as Philippine universities and review centers such as University of Santo Tomas, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, University of Baguio, Our Lady of Fatima University Graduate School, De La Salle Health Sciences Institute, University of Zamboanga, San Pedro College (Davao) and Legend Review Center.
Magracia also continues to contribute to Philippine healthcare as a Blood Bank Consultant for Asian Hospital and Medical Center, supporting improvements in transfusion protocols and laboratory quality systems.
Since 2024, his PBCC engagements have addressed modern transfusion science, including blood bank testing interference related to daratumumab therapy among multiple myeloma patients, with professional support from the Philippine Blood Coordinating Council (PBCC) and the Philippine Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusions (PSHBT).
He likewise advocates for routine antibody screening to reduce unnecessary testing and prevent transfusion delays.
Earlier in his career, Magracia led the establishment of one of the Philippines’ first contactless and automated COVID-19 drive-thru molecular testing facilities in Pasay City.
He earned the Specialist in Blood Bank (SBB) certification from ASCP International in 2023 and was subsequently selected to serve on several AABB committees, including the Education Advisory Accreditation Committee, Technical Practices Serology and Genomics Subgroup, and the Transfusion Global Forum.
Before migrating to the United States in 2021, Magracia received the Excellence in Service Award from the Philippine government for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, presented by former Presidential Adviser Jacinto Paras.
Across healthcare institutions in the Philippines, the United States and the global laboratory medicine community, Magracia’s work continues to demonstrate a long-term commitment to transfusion safety, professional education and evidence-based laboratory practice.
