San Antonio, Texas, May 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South Texas blood donors turned out by the hundreds on Wednesday in support of the nearby community of Uvalde.
More than 1,500 blood donations were collected by South Texas Blood & Tissue on Tuesday and Wednesday, the most since Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast in 2017.
The response was so great that the blood center expanded capacity at its single largest donor site, the Donor Pavilion. Additional donation beds were set up in the organization’s auditorium, supplementing those typically used in the Donor Pavilion.
The community blood drive in Uvalde was extended by four hours because of the response from the community, which was devastated by Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School.
The community supported those waiting to give blood in Uvalde by bringing food. Supporters from as far as Austin drove to Uvalde to bring sandwiches and pizza for donors, and a local Starbucks donated coffee for the drive. Even those who did not sign up to donate supported the blood drive workers and donors.
In San Antonio, the San Antonio Restaurant Association and individual restaurants, including Mad Dogs and Fogo de Chao, provided items for those giving at local donor centers.
H‑E‑B delivered canteen items for South Texas Blood & Tissue donor centers in the coming days and weeks.
South Texas Blood & Tissue appointments for donations are full through the Memorial Day weekend, but the need for blood will continue. Blood inventories across the nation have been at historically low levels for months. As we begin the summer, blood donations typically decline during because there are no school drives and fewer donors are available due to travelling.
Community members are encouraged to make appointments and keep them to ensure blood will be available for patients in hospitals today and in the future before disaster strikes. Because of the overwhelming response, now through Memorial Day weekend, we will only be able to accommodate donors who have appointments.
Donors can make an appointment at SouthTexasBlood.org or by calling 210-731-5590.
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About South Texas Blood & Tissue: South Texas Blood & Tissue (STB&T) is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 100 hospitals in 48 South Texas counties. It is the largest blood supplier in our region. In addition, STB&T supports the development of advanced therapies, including those derived from donated human cells and tissues used in research and in new therapies and cures for cancers and degenerative diseases. Through the generous life-legacy gifts of human tissue, STB&T also supports development of tissue allografts for patients in need of reconstructive surgery, repair or tissue regeneration. STB&T has a 47-year history serving the South Texas community and 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. STB&T has eight donor centers in South Texas and conducts hundreds of mobile blood drives each year. STB&T is online at SouthTexasBlood.org.
