Blood supply still fragile; new and existing donors encouraged to make donation a habit in 2020
South Texans responded to last week’s appeal for blood, making 3,229 donations Jan. 7-12 to help re-stock hospitals throughout the more than 48 counties in the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s service area.
But the needs of patients throughout the region are continuing to put a strain on supplies. One major automobile accident has the potential to wipe out the community’s blood supply in just a few hours. Several local hospitals had trauma cases recently that used dozens of units of blood, wiping out inventories.
STBTC is continuing to encourage both new and existing donors to make at least four donations each in 2020. Just one more lifesaving gift from every donor in South Texas would keep patients and their caregivers from worrying about postponing surgeries or missing a transfusion because of a blood shortage.
