Donor Center Series: Denton

This article is part of a series highlighting each of Carter BloodCare’s donor centers, their teams, and their commitment to serving their communities by fulfilling the mission to save lives by making transfusion possible.

Denton Center Helps Donors Stay in the Loop on the Daily Need for Lifesaving Blood

Loop 288 & I-35E location is convenient for Denton residents, including students and faculty at UNT and TWU

Carter BloodCare’s Tammie Mann has a helpful reminder for Denton residents who want to donate blood to save local lives:

“You don’t have to wait for a mobile blood drive to come to your neighborhood or campus. You have a dedicated donor center right here in town and we’d love to see everyone come here to donate,” she said.

As site supervisor for Carter BloodCare’s Denton Donor Center, Mann is eager to welcome visitors to the location directly across from Golden Triangle Mall on Loop 288 near I-35E.

Open since August 2004, the Denton center has six donor beds and two screening booths. On average, Mann and her energetic team – Phlebotomist 1 Angelica Hernandez, Phlebotomist 1 Jaymee Inman and Phlebotomist 2 Jason Ivey – see more than 125 donors weekly and more than 500 donors per month.

“We have a lot of regular donors who have been coming in since the donor center opened,” said Mann, who has worked with Carter BloodCare for 21 years, including five years at the Denton center. “With the daily need for blood across our area, especially with the ongoing blood supply shortage, we’d love to see a steady increase day by day and bring in more new donors, in addition to our regulars.”

Considering Denton is home to two prominent universities – the University of North Texas (UNT) and Texas Woman’s University (TWU) – it seems natural that education is top of mind as a key strategy for donor outreach.

“It’s important for us to share the benefits of blood donation and awareness of community needs. It’s about education and customer service, and that starts with us when they come in,” Mann said.

With enrollment tallies of more than 40,000 students at UNT and 15,000 at TWU, the pool of potential Denton donors could have a significant, lifesaving effect for area patients in need of transfusions.

“That’s a lot of students and we’re so close to both campuses. Our donors come from all over and we do get some from UNT and TWU, but getting the community more aware that we’re here, especially between those two universities, would be a game-changer,” Mann said. “If we can get them more involved in donating, that would have such a positive impact on our entire community.”

Donors can begin giving blood starting at age 16, with parental consent; those 17 and older can donate blood independently. With that in mind, Mann said it’s also vital to reach out to local teens and their families.

“We want to educate the high schools around the donor center, too, so the younger generation will come to donate,” she said. “It’s so important for them to see the need for blood donation, and how they can give back to support their community across Denton and North Texas.”

Fridays and Saturdays tend to be the most active days at the donor center. Mann and her team readily welcome and accommodate walk-ins; donors are also encouraged to conveniently schedule an appointment by calling or texting 800-366-2834 or visiting CarterBloodCare.org.

“We are here for them and we’re ready to see even more from Denton come in to help by becoming regular donors,” Mann said.

“My favorite part of the job is when donors come back to give blood and express what a great job we do,” she said. “They thank us for what we do every day and we thank them for donating to help others.”

Details:

Carter BloodCare
Denton Donor Center
2215 South Loop 288, Ste. 335
Denton, TX 76205
940-383-2055

Hours of operation:
Monday – Friday      8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday                  8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday                    Closed

Carter BloodCare’s team at the Denton Donor Center welcomes you for your next lifesaving donation to help Texas patients in need. To find additional donor centers near you, please visit CarterBloodCare.org, or call or text 800-366-2834 for an appointment.