SAN ANTONIO – Update: As of Wednesday night, 828 units of blood have been donated.
The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and the City of San Antonio have decided to extend its special community blood drive at the Alamodome to help maintain the local blood supply and keep it from running lower.
The blood drive will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Officials with the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center said the Alamodome was chosen as a donation location because it allows for social distancing between donor beds and waiting areas.
Those who would like to donate blood must make an appointment at SouthTexasBlood.org/GiveSA or by calling 210-731-5590. Officials said the drive is appointment-only to avoid overcrowding and to help manage the flow of donors.
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Donors will receive either a Valero or Target gift card, plus another card of their choice from the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center Donor Store, officials said.
The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center said an additional 600 donations of blood per day are needed, especially those with type-O blood.
Hospitals have already begun to postpone elective surgeries as the supply of blood decreases, officials said.
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Free parking is available for donors participating in the drive in Lot A just south of the Alamodome.
“Donors can enter via the University Heath System entrance at the southwest corner of the dome, and there will be a greeter there to direct them,” the Southwest Blood & Tissue Center said in a news release.
“All donors undergo a mini physical, which includes a temperature, pulse and blood pressure check, and they are asked about recent travel to areas of community incidences of COVID-19,” the news release continued.
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COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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