Doctors from major hospital systems in San Antonio put out an urgent call for blood donations.
Drs. Donald Jenkins of University Health Trauma Care and Joyce Schwartz of the Methodist Healthcare system are among those calling for
donations with the approach of summer.
Donations typically drop with the end of school blood drives and summer vacations. Blood orders from hospitals are running 10 times
higher than donations.
Blood supplies began hitting critical lows during the pandemic. The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center (STBTC) has reported 1,000 blood drives
have been canceled because of the pandemic.
Donations can be scheduled through SouthTexasBlood.org.
Donors are encouraged to continue giving blood at local blood drives, at one of South Texas Blood and Tissue’s seven donor rooms or at the University Hospital donor center.
STBTC is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 100 hospitals in 48 South Texas counties, making it the largest blood supplier in the region.
It is part of the BioBridge Global family of nonprofit organizations, which offers services in regenerative medicine and research including blood banking and resource management; cellular therapy; umbilical cord blood collection and storage; donated human tissue recovery and distribution for transplant; and testing of blood and plasma products to help patients in the United States and worldwide, according to a news release.
STBTC has seven donor rooms in South Texas and conducts hundreds of mobile blood drives each year.
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