SAN ANTONIO – The blood supply in San Antonio and the surrounding area is at a critical low. Mayor Ron Nirenberg stressed the issue last night’s in his daily COVID-19 briefing.
It’s why blood drives in the community are so important— like the one the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center is holding today at Antonian College Preparatory High School.
The blood drive is in honor of 2-year-old Amy, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia. She is in need of a lot of blood treatments.
“Amy is one of thousands right now. It’s very sad in our community of people that have cancer and need platelets, plasma or whole blood,” Christy Crawcraft with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center said.
The drive is coming at a critical time. Francine Pina with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center says the need for blood in our community is dire and they are struggling everyday to keep up with demand. They especially need type O blood.
“We are giving out 100 more units on a daily basis than we are actually receiving,” Pina said. “And the only solution for that is for us to be able to rely on our community’s support, that’s why blood drives like today’s at Antonian are so important.”
Crawcraft said the reason for the shortage is because they haven’t been able to schedule as many blood drives during the pandemic. Hospitals are also scheduling more surgeries, which is also driving demand up.
“We are having to find any way and every way to get our community to respond, without going onto an appeal and really get our community to schedule an appointment to show up and be there,” Crawcraft said.
The blood drive today is happening inside the gym on the Antonian campus until 2 p.m. Appointments are required, but some spaces are still available. You can call 210- 731-5590 to reserve a spot.