TYLER, Texas — Add this to the numerous problems brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical shortage in the East Texas blood supply. Our Alan Kasper visited Carter BloodCare where the employees are bleeding by example to get more donors.
Clinton McCoy, Director of Operations at Carter BloodCare, tells their story:
"Right now I’m actually doing a platelet donation. Platelets are the clotting factors in your blood so if you’re actively bleeding and they need to stop it they give patients platelets.
"We’ve been in a shortage basically since COVID started, so it’s been an 18-to-20-month shortage. With the cancellations at businesses, churches, and schools throughout the past year and a half, it’s been a real challenge to meet the patient demand. Then we go through these waves of increased caseloads at hospitals.
"We are in one of those surgeries right now and people aren’t out and active as much in the places that would traditionally host the blood drives are pulling back a bit, instituting their safety measures. It’s just harder to collect the blood needed for the patients at our hospitals.
"The most common blood type is O Positive and then O Negative is your universal type which can go to anybody. Those are the ones that are most commonly used in traumas or active bleeds and having those people come out and donate is needed right now.
"We need new donors. We have a really good base of loyal donors that have stood with us through the pandemic and have continued to turn out to meet patients' needs. Now we need those people that have been sitting on the fence, who have never donated blood and who really haven’t given it much thought, to step up and do their civic duty and come out and provide 30 minutes to an hour of your time and help save somebody’s life at the hospital.
"You can go to our website carterbloodcare.org and put in your ZIP Code and find either a donor center or a mobile Drive close to you. Make an appointment, you do need to bring an ID, eat a good meal and drink lots of fluids and then come ready to save lives."