Representatives from Vitalant tells us there is a shortage in this vital liquid, the lowest it has been since May 2020.
Like it comes, it goes. This is how some describe the situation with blood donations. According to Vitalant, 1000 additional volunteers would be needed to make and keep an appointment each week, to ensure trauma centers, cancer patients and critical surgeries have access to the units.
“We need almost 5,300 units a day, to keep up with supply and demand right now, of our patients in the hospitals. Right now we are just at an all time low. The pandemic really hit us and affected us really bad here in the RGV,” said Sandy Vazquez, Donor Recruitment Manager for Vitalant in the RGV.
This Tuesday, Sharyland school district held one of their blood drives, in which dozens of students participated. This represented a great opportunity for a group of close to 30 students, who were able to get some hands on experience in their field of interest.
“It allows me to pursue my dream as a surgeon and higher up my education in med school,” shared Dario Garcia, a student in the Career and Technical Education Program.
“I’m not practicing with the specialists but I’m at least included and I can watch them and basically feel like I’m part of the health science and have the experience,” shared Juan Valencia, also a student in the Career and Technical Education Program.
Hospital units like Valley Baptist also recognize the need there is for blood drives, which is why they are already planning one for December 14th. Health officials say if a person has recently received a flu or Covid-19 vaccine there is no waiting period necessary for them to give blood. The requirements are that the individual should be 16 years or older, weight more than 110 pounds and should wait at least 8 weeks until donating again.
If you are interested in becoming a blood donor you can visit http://www.vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL.
