Blog

UTRGV interns make a difference

February 10, 2020

Five interns from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley made a difference in South Texas.

During their time at BioBridge Global, they helped organize paperwork for Center for Apheresis and Therapeutic Services (CATS), assembled birth tissue kits for the Cord Blood and Birth Tissue team, and gave feedback on using social media to encourage the younger generation to donate blood or stem cells.

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Be The Match launches college program

February 3, 2020

GenCure is working with its affiliate, Be The Match, on a new initiative called the College Partnership Program.

It’s designed to encourage college administrators, faculty and organizations to host presentations about joining the Be The Match marrow donor registry.

The program will provide grants to academic departments or organizations that hold events about Be The Match and joining the registry.

The size of the grant depends on the number of participants in the presentation:

$250 for 100 participants
$500 for 200 participants
$1,000 for 400 participants

The program has given back already with Concorde Career College, which received its grant in October.

National Blood Donor Month Series: Alex Salazar

Blood donations make a difference for patients like Alex.

January 27, 2020

alex_salazar_patient Alex is an 8-year-old boy with a passion for baseball. He has always been athletic, so his parents were surprised when he began bruising and complaining of pain in early September 2019.

“We noticed he was really tired, and he had a lot of bruising on his legs,” said David Salazar, Alex’s father. “We thought it came from him playing football.”

A week after his symptoms began, Alex was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer. He left Laredo to begin treatment in San Antonio.

On top of needing blood and platelets to support his chemotherapy, his parents were told Alex would need a marrow transplant as soon as possible. Thankfully he received a 50% matched transplant from his brother.

Beat the flu and help patients, too: Get a flu shot

January 20, 2020

Flu activity in Texas is the highest it has been in a decade, according to a recent flu surveillance report from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Texas is one of 33 states with high or record-high activity.

The flu virus is detected year-round in this country, but the number of cases tends to rise beginning in the fall, peaks between December and February, and can last until May.

That’s why the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center encourages South Texans to get a flu shot, which helps maintain an adequate blood supply. Anyone who has flu symptoms on the day of donation can’t give blood.

National Blood Donor Month Series: Ron White

Because of generous blood donors like Ron, we are able to make a difference in our community

January 13, 2020

Ron White donated blood for the first time at 17, and his donations have been saving lives ever since.

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Ron donated blood to fellow injured soldiers when he served in the Vietnam War.

After the war, he began donating platelets when asked to donate on behalf of his coworker’s ill sister.

In between, Ron continued donating while he accomplished another milestone—a career as a professional bowler. He recorded 28 perfect games and even owned a bowling alley.

Eventually, Ron considered taking a break from donating. Then he met River Laurence, a 5-year-old boy with a rare form of cancer.

“Our church held a lot of blood drives for him,” said Ron. “He passed two weeks after his fifth birthday. He was the bravest kid I have ever met.”

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