Carter BloodCare, Fresenius Kabi to honor Hall of Fame inductee

Texas mom recognized for advocacy to help children who need lifesaving transfusions

WHO:            
Latorra Garland of Arlington, Texas

WHAT:          
Garland will be inducted into Fresenius Kabi’s 2025 National Blood Donation Hall of Fame. The induction event will honor Garland for her civic advocacy and include presentation of the Hall of Fame award. Notably, Garland is one of only 13 inductees nationwide and the only 2025 honoree from Texas.

WHEN:         
11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025

WHERE:      
Carter BloodCare headquarters, 2205 Hwy. 121 South, Bedford, TX 76021 (map)

Garland was nominated by Carter BloodCare for raising awareness of the need for blood donations, especially in the battle against childhood cancer.

Her 14-year-old son, Jacob, received multiple blood transfusions after his bone cancer diagnosis. Though Jacob passed away only 77 days later, Latorra said each transfusion “gave us another day to make memories with Jacob and see his beautiful, contagious smile.”

In Jacob’s memory, Latorra became a champion for blood donation, especially for the youngest in need. She also founded Jacob Way, a North Texas-based nonprofit helping families impacted by childhood cancer.

About Carter BloodCare

Carter BloodCare is an independent, community blood center providing transfusion resources to more than 200 medical facilities in 57 counties of North, Central and East Texas. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization is one of the largest blood programs in Texas, delivering more than 440,000 blood products annually to meet hospitals’ requirements for their patients. Services include collection, processing, specialized laboratory testing, storage and distribution of blood and blood products.