South Texas Blood & Tissue Center will need to make up almost 1,000 lost donations when conditions improve
All South Texas Blood & Tissue Center donor rooms will be closed on Monday, Feb. 15 and all blood drives that day will be canceled because of the severe winter weather across South Texas.
But the need for blood is as strong as ever, boosted by the potential for auto accidents on icy roads and streets.
The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, a subsidiary of San Antonio nonprofit BioBridge Global, will need to make up almost 1,000 donations lost during several days of severe weather to keep up with the needs of patients in South Texas.
When the blood and tissue center re-opens donor rooms and drives, all donors will receive a $20 Amazon gift card through Sunday, Feb. 21, as well as donor reward points.
Donors can make an appointment by visiting SouthTexasBlood.org or calling 210-731-5590. Same-day appointments are available at the center’s seven donor rooms as well as at community blood drives.
The center also will be accepting walk-in donors as space allows. The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center continues to follow all safety protocols for COVID-19, including social distancing in waiting areas and donation rooms, required wearing of masks at all times and sanitizing donor beds after each donation.
“Severe weather across the country has decimated the nation’s blood supply,” said Adrienne Mendoza, Vice President of Blood Services at the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center. “That shortage includes South Texas.
“The severe weather events turned an already dangerously low blood inventory into a potential healthcare crisis.”
Because of the blood shortage, the center has been forced to work with hospitals to evaluate which patients receive blood transfusions.
“We’re concerned that the dwindling blood supply will prevent patients from receiving blood when they need it” Mendoza said. “It is our mission to help save lives and we can only do that through the generosity of blood donors and the support of the community.”
The blood and tissue center will be adding appointments this week as it works to re-build the blood supply. All donors are asked to keep their appointments or call 210-731-5590 to reschedule and open a time for someone else to give.
