Photos: National Blood Donation Hall of Fame inducts Latorra Garland
Arlington mom is one of only 13 inductees nationwide and the 2025 honoree from Texas
BEDFORD, Texas — Latorra Garland of Arlington is the newest member of Fresenius Kabi’s National Blood Donation Hall of Fame.
She was honored Nov. 18 at an induction ceremony and trophy presentation at Carter BloodCare’s North Texas headquarters in Bedford.
Latorra is one of only 13 people selected for this year’s honor. Nominated by blood centers across the United States, inductees were chosen from more than 200 candidates, based on their dedication to donating blood or for encouraging blood donation.
Latorra was nominated by Carter BloodCare for raising awareness of the need for blood donations, especially in the battle against childhood cancer.
Her teenage son, Jacob, received multiple blood transfusions following his bone cancer diagnosis. Though Jacob passed away only 77 days after diagnosis, at the age of 14, 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 throughout the United States.
Hall of Fame inductees and their stories are featured in a commemorative calendar used by U.S. blood centers. Garland is highlighted for August in the 2026 calendar produced by Fresenius Kabi.
More photos from the Nov. 18 presentation event
About Fresenius Kabi
Fresenius Kabi (www.fresenius-kabi.com/us) is a global health care company that specializes in medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion, and clinical nutrition. The company’s products and services help care for critically and chronically ill patients. Its U.S. headquarters is in Lake Zurich, Illinois, with global headquarters in Bad Homburg, Germany. To learn about U.S. career opportunities at Fresenius Kabi, visit www.fresenius-kabi.com/us/join-us.
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. Tu centro de sangre comunitario.
