2024 BALL PROCEEDS: BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BLOOD DONORS
A growing population means an increased demand for lifesaving blood for patients in our community. But across the country, blood centers are facing a concerning trend: a decline in the number of young blood donors, endangering the current blood supply and the future donor base. The 2024 Red & White Ball will help grow the number and size of high school blood drives, giving more students the opportunity to learn about the role of blood donation in saving lives and to experience giving back to their community
BY THE NUMBERS: HIGH SCHOOL BLOOD DONATIONS
Before the pandemic, high school drives contributed nearly 25% of annual blood donations. When schools closed their campuses to outside groups, South Texas Blood & Tissue saw a sharp decrease in high school blood drives. That number is only now starting to recover, but progress is slow.
Our goal is to bring high school blood collections back to pre-pandemic levels — which will require 10,000 more blood donations within the next few years.
But there are significant costs to recruit for and staff more blood drives, and to test, process, store, and distribute blood. Consumables (blood collection bags, tubing and other supplies) are just one cost required to grow high school drives
FAMILY ADVOCATES FOR BLOOD DONATIONS
Layla, center, is in remission thanks in part to blood donations
What started as a simple doctor’s visit became life-changing for 19-year-old Layla Shafie and her mother, Delaine Mathieu, a member of The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation board.
Diagnosed with leukemia, Layla needed four blood transfusions within hours, with many more to come. Today, although treatment continues, Layla is in remission, thanks in part to blood donors.
Layla’s younger sister Malea is aware she almost lost her sister. After seeing firsthand the need for blood, Malea is reaching out, rallying her high school to hold blood drives again after they were put on hold during the pandemic.
Reflecting on Layla’s journey, Delaine recalls, “I cried when I saw a unit from South Texas Blood & Tissue on Layla’s transfusion pole.” She took a photo, and shared on social media, “Just so you know, your blood is going into my daughter today. I don’t know who you are, but you are saving her life.”
The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation supports the lifesaving work of San Antonio-based nonprofit biomedical organization BioBridge Global (BBG) and its subsidiaries, South Texas Blood & Tissue, QualTex Laboratories, and GenCure. It seeks to raise community awareness and develop financial and other resources that support BBG’s mission to help save and enhance lives through the healing power of human cells and tissue.