January initiative focuses on winter need for local blood donors
National Blood Donor Month highlights volunteers who support the community
BEDFORD, Texas – January marks National Blood Donor Month, recognizing the important role of new and consistent donors in building a safe, available blood supply.
Health care professionals with Carter BloodCare emphasize that the need for this lifesaving resource is nonstop. Without it, crucial surgeries and medical procedures can be delayed until the necessary blood type becomes available.
The need is especially great each winter, when inclement weather can affect blood collection services.
In mid-January 2025, for example, two days of icy, hazardous travel conditions forced Texas-based Carter BloodCare to temporarily close its donor centers and cancel dozens of mobile blood drives until weather improved. Each day of forced closures meant an estimated 1,600 units of blood could not be collected from volunteer donors.
Carter BloodCare notes each unit of donated whole blood can save three local lives. That is possible when the donated unit is separated into its three components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. With 1,600 units collected on an average day, Carter BloodCare donors help 4,800 patients in need daily, or 33,600 patients each week.
Blood donated locally with Carter BloodCare stays in the Texas community to help local patients.
Texas blood donors help children fighting cancer, mothers going through difficult childbirths, organ transplant recipients, open-heart surgery patients, older adults with age-related health issues, sickle cell disease patients, people hurt in life-threatening vehicle accidents and others with severe trauma injuries.
Residents can begin donating blood at 16 years old with parental consent; those 17 and older can donate independently. Also, eligible Carter BloodCare donors must weigh at least 110 pounds and feel well on the day of their donation.
As thanks for giving, donor appreciation gifts are available, while supplies last. Current donor gifts can be found on the Promotions page at CarterBloodCare.org.
Donors can easily schedule an appointment to give at their closest Carter BloodCare donation location by visiting CarterBloodCare.org or calling 800-366-2834.
Carter BloodCare resources for new and returning donors
Are you eligible to donate blood?
What’s involved: The blood donation process
Find a Carter BloodCare donor center or mobile blood drive near you
About Carter BloodCare
Carter BloodCare is an independent, community blood center providing transfusion resources to more than 225 medical facilities in 59 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 450,000 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.
Tu centro de sangre comunitario.
