Community asked to Commit 4 Compassion by donating blood in 2024

South Texas Blood & Tissue is urgently asking for blood donors of all blood types – especially type O – and platelet donors to make an appointment now to meet the daily hospital demand. Following the holiday season, there is a decline in blood donation making it difficult to meet patients’ needs. Patients like 9-year-old Lyric, who was born with sickle cell disease. She relies on blood transfusions to help her when the disease flairs up, and she has pain throughout her body.

“You can tell it’s done something positive in her body to bring her back from the state she was in,” Lyric’s mother, Shanice, explained. “Some patients are on heavy medication…when they get the pain, they give them morphine…it helps temporarily, but when they get the blood transfusions, that’s what really helps.”

To donors, Shanice says “You’re doing more than you could even imagine as far as saving a life…It affects people in so many ways. For sickle cell, it’s our lifeline.” 

The need for blood, especially type O, is particularly high. O-negative blood is critical because it can be used for any patient in an emergency, while O-positive is the most common blood type. In addition to blood donations, platelet donations are also urgently needed. Platelets are crucial for supporting patients undergoing chemotherapy and suffering from traumatic injuries.

South Texas Blood & Tissue launched the Commit 4 Compassion challenge to encourage the community to donate blood or host a blood drive up to four times throughout the year. By donating blood and hosting blood drives, individuals and organizations can contribute to the well-being of the community and help save lives.

“If you have never donated blood before, we encourage you to add that to your new year’s resolutions. Many patients rely on blood donations to survive,” said Francine Piña, South Texas Blood & Tissue Senior Manager of Marketing & Community Engagement. “By giving the gift of life, you can make an impact on someone’s life and start the year knowing that you made a difference.” 

As a special thank-you, those who come to give blood or platelets in January will receive an exclusive “I Donated” t-shirt to track life-saving contributions. Appointments can be made by visiting SouthTexasBlood.org or calling 210-731-5590.