In the Rio Grande Valley, 185 units of blood are needed every day for routine procedures and scheduled elective surgeries – and that’s not including the units that are necessary in cases of emergency or traumas. Factoring in those emergencies, the number only increases. As it stands right now, a group of 10,000 donors are supporting the blood needs of a community with over 1 million people.
It is so important that the people of the RGV realize how much their help is needed. Blood cannot be manufactured, and it cannot be made in labs – it can only be obtained from willing donors that want to help save lives. In that spirit, United Blood Services hopes that the community will show their support this summer and help save a life with their blood donation.
Summer is one of the hardest times for blood collection since almost half of UBS’s donor base – 40 percent – are high school students who go on vacation. If it wasn’t for these young donors, the blood supply of the RGV would not be able to sustain our patients’ needs and medical care would be very severely affected.
Zika & the RGV’s blood supply
As a border community, the majority of our residents frequently travel across the border to our neighbor in the south, Mexico. Because of this travel and the imminent threat of the Zika virus (which has confirmed cases in Mexico), our community blood drives have been unable to collect the pints of blood that we need. (Anybody that has traveled to Mexico or certain South American countries in the last 28 days cannot donate for an entire month after their visit.) The Zika virus is just one of the unique challenges that the RGV must continuously overcome. Help keep it from affecting our blood supply by donating often.
Upcoming UBS community drives:
July 8, 9 & 10
Guns ‘N’ Hoses
La Plaza, Sunrise &
Valle Vista Malls
1:00-6:00pm
Fri, Sat & Sun
July 22, 23 & 24
Christmas in July
La Plaza, Sunrise &
Valle Vista Malls
1:00-6:00pm
Fri, Sat & Sun
Aug. 4, 5 & 6
Harley Davidson
Blood Drives
Harley Davidson locations in San Benito and McAllen
1:00-6:00pm
Fri, Sat & Sun
Aug. 26, 27 & 28
Labor of Love
La Plaza, Sunrise &
Valle Vista Malls
1:00-6:00pm
Fri, Sat & Sun
