Donating blood in East Dallas/Deep Ellum at Baylor Donor Center
Throughout 2024, we’re featuring each of Carter BloodCare’s donor centers and what makes them unique. The first feature focuses on our Baylor Donor Center, located near Baylor University Medical Center in East Dallas.
Our journey as a blood bank traces back to 1951, when the Wadley Research Institute and Blood Bank was founded to serve Dallas area patients. In 1998, Wadley merged with Carter Blood Center, then serving Fort Worth, to form Carter BloodCare to better serve the entire Metroplex.
Sandwiched between lively Deep Ellum and the Old East Dallas neighborhood, the Baylor Donor Center dates to the Wadley Research Institute and Blood Bank days, a history that makes it unique.
The Baylor location has a staff of nine employees that Site Supervisor Tonya Wells affectionately refers to as “characters, to say the least.” They are the reason, Wells said, the Baylor Donor Center has been able to establish such a solid donor base.
That includes donors like David C., a two-time cancer survivor who has donated more than 98 gallons of blood and platelets with Carter BloodCare.
It also includes donors such as Noah W., who donates in part to honor lost loved ones.
“Noah is an O negative donor that, when he started out, came with his father, Stan,” Wells said. “Noah had to have his dad’s permission to donate because Noah was 16 years old. We teased him and said, ‘The next time you come, you can donate without the 16-year-old consent form.’ Unfortunately, it truly was, as his dad passed shortly afterward.
“His father, a former firefighter, donated as well until he passed. They were/are double red donors. Noah is now 28 and still does his max donations of three per year without fail.”
Noah and David are representative of moving stories from the Baylor Donor Center. “We have several longtime and regular donors, way too many to count and name,” said Wells.
Thanks to a friendly staff and a donor base that shares our commitment to save lives by making transfusion possible, the Baylor Donor Center helps provide a safe and healthy blood supply for the Metroplex.
Join Noah, David and the hundreds of loyal donors that visit Carter BloodCare’s Baylor Donor Center each year by scheduling an appointment today.
Details:
Carter BloodCare
Baylor Donor Center
4201 Gaston Ave.
Suite 110
214-217-5676