TYLER, Texas — The Carter BloodCare facility in Tyler is asking for residents to come in and donate blood.
This time of year, the center sees a 25% decrease in donors, thanks in large part to school being out.
“So, we typically see a decrease in donations during the summer, about 25% of our blood supply comes from high school students,” Carter BloodCare Director of Operations for East Texas Clinton McCoy said. “So, while the usage remains the same at our hospitals, we don't have as many donors coming in as frequently as we do during the school year.”
This time of year, the majority of their donations come in from mobile blood drives.
“So, we have our coaches that are out in the community, we run up to six blood drives a day on our coaches, and that's going everywhere, from here to parish to Marshall to Mount Pleasant down the Jacksonville Palestine,” McCoy said.
The Tyler office is the hub for all East Texas operations of Carter BloodCare.
“So, our component production, our distribution for every hospital in that area to Marshall, Paris, Jacksonville, that whole area comes through the center here,” McCoy said. “So, the blood comes back to our Tyler center, we process it into its three core components, which are your red blood cells, your plasma and your platelets. And then those components go out to hospitals based on what they need for their patient load.”
Blood, plasma and platelet donations made at their facilities are taken to hospitals all over East Texas. So, donating locally is crucial.
“We’re relying on our community sponsors and the places that are hosting us to really provide that donor pool to be our voice within their community,” McCoy said. “ So, if we go to your business, your church organization, we're really asking you to be our advocate to your friends, families and peers so that we all have a stable blood supply throughout the year.”
For more information on becoming a blood donor, check out the Carter BloodCare website.