Across several Central Texas counties, hospital blood transfusions trace back to a primary source: the nonprofit We Are Blood. From its permanent and mobile donation centers, the organization supplies the lifeblood for surgeries, trauma care, cancer treatments, and pregnancy-related emergencies.
The system runs smoothly – until donations stop. Even a few slow days can leave hospital shelves dangerously low. That fragility became clear after the recent winter storm, when icy roads kept donors away and emergency crews depleted supplies.
The need was most urgent for O negative blood, the universal type used in emergencies when there’s not time for testing. Only about 7 percent of people have it, but nearly anyone can receive it. In the days after the freeze, We Are Blood’s reserves dropped to a single day’s supply.
“That’s a dangerous place to be,” said We Are Blood Vice President Nick Canedo. “Any single ‘off day’ in donations can impact lives.” While donors often heed the call after emergency events, their blood is not immediately available. Timing is everything. “It’s the blood already on the shelf that saves lives,” Canedo said.
Fragile supply
Maintaining an adequate blood supply is a delicate balance. Each donation takes about two days to process and lab test before it’s transfusion ready. Meanwhile, red blood cells expire after 42 days.
Blood platelets are even more fragile. These blood clotting components are vital for trauma patients, newborns and their moms, and – especially – for cancer patients. Because chemotherapy damages platelet-producing bone marrow, even small injuries are dangerous for these cancer patients.
Platelets can be extracted from whole blood donations but it takes five whole blood donations to produce one unit of platelets. When a special centrifuge machine is used to just extract platelets – while returning the other blood components back into the donor – it yields two or three platelet units in a single visit.
Still, platelets last just seven days on the shelf.
With these biological clocks ticking, blood banks – and their customers – rely on a steady, consistent flow of weekly blood and platelet donors, year after bloody year
And demand is growing fast.
Central Texas’ population boom has driven a 55 percent increase in demand for red blood cells over the past decade. The need for platelet donations has nearly doubled since 2015.
Projecting a 25% increase in demand for blood products over the next five years, We Are Blood is rolling out its new “Every Drop Counts” plan. It includes a new donation site in fast-growth Kyle, more mobile donation buses, and a new community advisory council. Not driven just by population growth, the anticipated opening of new area hospitals (including St. David’s Leander Hospital, St. David’s Kyle Hospital, the new UT/MD Anderson hospitals, and the new Ascension Seton Women’s Hospital) – with significant growth in women’s health and cancer care – also will demand considerable blood supplies.
Meanwhile, just about 3 percent of Americans donate blood – and most of them are over 50 years old. Blood banks desperately need to cultivate young-blood donors.
“It’s so important for us to inspire more people to try donating,” Canedo said. “The donating generation is aging, and younger donors aren’t yet filling their shoes.”
In other words: It’s time for young people to pull their weight by rolling up their sleeves. That challenge did not escape this 23-year-old reporter. So, I sheepishly agreed to donate blood.
Rookie on the recliner
I have a deep fear of needles and blood. After speaking with Canedo, I decided it was time to confront my fear.
“The key is simple,” he told me. “Be well-rested, well-fed, and well-hydrated.”
Image credit: Taylor Crownover.
Visiting We Are Blood’s location at 4300 N. Lamar Blvd., the process turned out to be much easier than I feared.
Step 1:
A quick, confidential health questionnaire covering travel history, medications, and prior surgeries.
Step 2:
A brief health check — blood pressure, temperature, and a tiny finger prick to check iron levels.
Step 3:
Choose your donation type:
- Whole blood (about 10–15 minutes)
- Platelets (around 2 hours)
From the moment I walked in, the staff made me feel welcome and at ease. Kristin Thompson at the front desk offered to be my “spirit animal,” sitting with me through the process and holding my hand.
Image credit: Joseph Punske.
The finger prick was quick and easy. A volunteer handed me Gatorade and snacks. I was even given a stress ball to squeeze – shaped like a cowboy-boot-wearing blood drop, keeping Austin weird.
Because I was nervous, they paired me with Jim Tisdale, a phlebotomist who has worked at that donor location for 27 of the organization’s 75 year history. While his colleagues distracted me with jokes, he carefully examined both arms to select the best vein.
With Thompson holding my hand and Kacie Newell making me laugh, Tisdale had me hooked up and donating before I had time to worry.
They reclined my chair, placed an ice pack on my neck when I felt a little clammy, and kept checking back in. Thanks to my obsessive pre-hydration, it took less than 10 minutes to do something that could help save a life for, well, a lifetime.
Image credit: Taylor Crownover.
Everyday people
Blood shortages are solved by everyday people making everyday commitments. Now it’s up to the next generation to roll up a sleeve to fill those shelves. You never know when you yourself are going to need a blood donor.
“We want donors to have an experience that makes them feel good, and want to turn donation into a regular habit,” Canedo said.
Phlebotomist Tisdale said regular donors are the life blood of the system. “Whatever is going on in their lives, they find a way to come in and donate to help their communities.”
I walked out with true Austin incentives: Nutter Butter cookies and a coupon for a free ThunderCloud sub. Young bloods, we can create the change we want to see by staying positive. It’s in our blood… literally. (I discovered I’m O positive).
Taylor Crownover is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Austin Free Press, where she collaborates with local organizations and writes features about community events. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Taylor is involved with numerous Austin-based organizations and works in an Austin city council office.
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