AAPI Heritage Month 2024

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrating the anniversary of the first-known Japanese immigration to the United States in 1843.

Texas has a fast-growing Asian American and Pacific Islander population. According to census data, those of Asian descent make up 5.5% of the population and that number is much higher in metro counties. Collin County, home to cities such as Allen and Plano, has the second-highest Asian population of any county in the state with 18%.

In addition, more than 10% of students are Asian American and Pacific Islander in Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, located at the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and the home of Carter BloodCare headquarters. Euless is well known as having the largest Pacific Isander population in the metroplex.

Because of Texas’ fast-growing Asian American and Pacific Islander population, and to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, it’s important to discuss why blood donation is important for the AAPI community and why donor diversity is among our most important initiatives.

Blood types are more than just A, B or O, and more than just Rh positive or negative. While everyone has one of the eight blood types, we also each have different antigens on the surface of our blood. People from the same ethnic background are more likely to have the same or similar antigens.

Why is this important?

Think of antigens like you would getting a vaccine. For example, a flu vaccine contains weakened or dead, non-malignant particles of the flu virus. When you receive that vaccine, your body will make antibodies and will attack the foreign agent (the weakened or dead flu particles) and remember what that agent looks like. Then, when you come in contact with active, malignant flu particles again, your antibodies remember what those particles look like and attack and kill them.

It’s the same with the antigens on the surface of our blood. When a patient needs a blood transfusion and receives blood from someone with different antigens, the body could create an attack response by making antibodies to those foreign antigens just like it would for the flu. If it encounters those same foreign antigens again (for example, in another blood transfusion), it could harm the blood recipient. This is needed most often in situations where a person might need many or recurring blood transfusions.

Because members of the same ethnic background are more likely to have many of the same antigens, it is important for Carter BloodCare to have that specific blood available. For that reason, among others, donor diversity is among our most important initiatives. Donating blood is a great way to help others, in some cases, specifically others of the same ethnic background.

With a growing Asian American and Pacific Islander population in Texas, donating blood is a great way to celebrate AAPI Heritage this month and every month.