BioBridge Global, South Texas Blood & Tissue Center Join with Global Blood Fund: Local Blood Donors Can Affect the Blood Supply Worldwide
San Antonio, Texas (PRWEB) July 15, 2015 -- Beginning today, blood donors at South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) can make an even bigger difference in the world by giving blood locally and then contributing their Donating for Life points to the Global Blood Fund (GBF) and its Open Arms Program.
BioBridge Global, STBTC’s parent company, has formed an agreement with GBF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has a mission of increasing the availability and safety of blood in the world’s poorest nations.
“The Global Blood Fund is doing vital and important work, and we want to contribute to those efforts,” said Linda Myers, chief executive officer of BioBridge Global.
South Texas blood donors can help by converting their STBTC Donating for Life points, accumulated through whole blood, plasma, platelet and dual red cell donations, to funds that will help GBF with its mission.
“Our donors are saving lives every day in South Texas and beyond, and the Open Arms Program allows them to help save lives around the world,” said Elizabeth Waltman, STBTC chief operating officer. “Many donors have accumulated thousands of points which could be converted into significant funds to support Global Blood Fund instead of purchasing donor recognition items such as T-shirts.”
The GBF has provided assistance to agencies in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean since its founding in 2008. That help includes financial support, donations of used equipment, training programs and cloud-based software.
“In the developed world, we take for granted that we’ll be able to get a transfusion of safe blood whenever and wherever we need it,” said Dr. John Armitage, president of the Global Blood Fund, in a video on the GBF website.
“We are blessed with traditions and cultures and professional collection agencies which ensure that millions and millions of people every year are willing to step up and give the blood. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in the developing world.”
The Global Blood Fund’s goal is to help build a base of volunteer blood donors through its support systems.
“It’s known through work of the World Health Organization that voluntary blood donation is the most important step in creating a safe blood supply,” Armitage said. “It’s not even testing or other things we can do. It’s simply getting volunteers, people who are otherwise healthy, to take the time to give that unit of blood.”
The STBTC Donating for Life program is available to donors age 18 and older. Points accumulated through donations are valid for two years.
Participants in the program can donate their points to the GBF via their online accounts at DonatingForLife.org or by calling 210-731-5555, extension 1936.
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About the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center: The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) is a nonprofit community blood center providing blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 67 hospitals in 43 South Texas counties. STBTC has seven donor rooms in South Texas and conducts multiple mobile blood drives each week.
About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global (BBG) is a San Antonio, Texas-based nonprofit corporation that offers diverse services through its subsidiaries – the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and the Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. BBG is rooted in the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, which has a proud history of serving the South Texas region and beyond for more than 40 years. BBG is committed to supporting groundbreaking research, addressing unmet clinical needs and enabling the development and commercialization of novel biotechnology products. Visit us at http://www.biobridgeglobal.org.
About Global Blood Fund: Global Blood Fund (GBF) is a US 501(c)(3) charity providing support to blood collectors in low- and middle-income countries around the world. Because of the work of organizations like South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and the generosity of their donors, U.S. hospital patients can be confident blood will always be there for them when needed and that it will be free of infections such as HIV, hepatitis and malaria. Sadly, in many parts of the world blood is neither plentiful nor safe and many lives that could be saved are not, simply because there is not enough blood. This tragic situation particularly affects mothers suffering hemorrhage during childbirth and infants needing transfusion to treat complications of malaria. Focusing on areas of greatest need and impact, GBF provides training and resources to blood collectors in Africa, Latin America and Asia, working to ensure they are better equipped to serve the needs of their communities. For further information visit http://www.globalbloodfund.org.
Carmen Davila, BioBridge Global and Subsidiaries, http://www.biobridgeglobal.org, +1 (210) 731-5520, [email protected]
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