TYLER, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from Aug. 2021.
East Texas communities are facing a significant drop in blood donations as the country goes through the “longest national blood shortage,” putting local patient care at risk in blood transfusion needs.
According to Carter BloodCare’s website, the blood center is in critical need of O+, O- A-, B+, B- and platelet donations.
“We’ve been on a critical low, and as of (Tuesday), we have less than a one day supply… We’re not collecting enough to meet tomorrow’s needs. We’re out, we need people to come out and donate,” said Clinton McCoy, Director of Mobile Recruitment and Regional Operations. McCoy organizes blood drives and handles the distribution of blood to partners for Carter BloodCare in East Texas.
Read more from our newspaper partners, the Kilgore News-Herald.