Victor Ortega BROWNSVILLE – The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center revealed blood donations drop by 25% during the winter season. A critical time for blood collection.
January is National Blood Donation month and according to the American Red Cross, it’s an observation to raise awareness when donation rates drop.
Roger Ruiz, South Texas Blood and Tissue senior communication specialist, explained why the winter in particular poses a challenge for blood centers.
“People are on vacation. They’re out seeing family. High schools and colleges are out, and a lot of blood centers depend on high schools and colleges,” Ruiz said. “It’s flu season. So, a lot of people are getting sick.”
Ruiz shared that despite common misconceptions, most people in Texas above the age of 16 can qualify as donors.
People who have received tattoos from a licensed facility can qualify, as well as people with diabetes or blood pressure if approved by their doctors.
Southtexasblood.org also provides a list of medications that individuals can take while providing blood, such as pain relievers including Tylenol, Advil and Aleve and common prescriptions.
Ruiz said that a majority of the blood collected, not only in South Texas but the rest of the US, goes to cancer patients.
“Unfortunately, we’re probably going to know somebody who has cancer in our lifetime. And so, chances are they’re going to rely on people who will come in and donate blood,” Ruiz said.
Dr. Terence Herman, medicine and medical oncology professor, said South Texas faces a unique challenge besides the normal difficulties for the season.
“We actually have more patients because they come from the north. So, our use of blood goes up during that,” Herman said. “As the weather gets less appealing, people tend to give blood less often.”
Annu Karithana, school of medicine and oncology and hematology student interest group member, helps organize annual blood drives at UTRGV.
In a statement provided to KVAQ-TV, she said:
“As medical students passionate about oncology and hematology, choosing to give reinforces that restoring health sometimes begins with simply sharing what we have.”
Visit the South Texas Blood and Tissue website for more information on upcoming blood drives in the Rio Grande Valley.
