DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS

Haemonetics is a global healthcare company dedicated to providing innovative blood management solutions for our customers — plasma collectors, blood collectors, and hospitals. Anchored by our strong brand name in medical device systems for the transfusion industry, we also provide information technology platforms and valued added services to provide customers with business solutions which support improved clinical outcomes for patients and efficiency in the blood supply chain.

Our systems automate the collection and processing of donated blood; perform blood diagnostics; salvage and process surgical patient blood; and dispense blood within the hospital. These systems include devices and single-use, proprietary disposable sets that operate only on our specialized equipment. Our blood processing systems allow users to collect and process only the blood component(s) they target — plasma, platelets, or red blood cells — increasing donor and patient safety as well as collection efficiencies. Our blood diagnostics system assesses the likelihood of a patient’s blood loss allowing clinicians to make informed decisions about a patient’s treatment as it relates to blood loss in surgery. Our surgical blood salvage systems collect blood lost by a patient in surgery, clean the blood, and make it available for reinfusion to the patient, in this way giving the patient the safest blood possible — his or her own. Our blood distribution systems are “smart” refrigerators located throughout hospitals which automate the storage, inventory tracking, and dispositioning of blood in key blood use areas.

Our information technology platforms are used by blood and plasma collectors to improve the safety and efficiency of blood collection logistics by eliminating previously manual functions at not-for-profit blood centers and commercial plasma centers. Our platforms are also used by hospitals to enable hospital administrators to monitor and measure blood management practices and to manage processes within transfusion services. Our information technology platforms allow all customers to better manage processes across the blood supply chain, comply with regulatory requirements, and identify increased opportunities to reduce costs.

Our business services include consulting, Six Sigma, and LEAN manufacturing offerings that support our customers’ needs for regulatory compliance and operational efficiency in the blood supply chain and best practice in blood management.