Local Blood Centers team up to aid blood supplies for Ukraine

04/28/2022 

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is teaming up with Blood Centers of America for a nationwide campaign to provide needed blood collection and transfusion supplies to those impacted in Ukraine. Donors can give blood and continue to make a difference when they donate from May 2-4, 2022.

On March 10, a warehouse located on the outskirts of Kyiv was hit by a shell or artillery strike by Russian aggressors, followed by a powerful explosion and an intense fire, which resulted in a structural collapse and complete destruction of all the goods in the warehouse. That warehouse contained supplies used for blood collections.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine also left some of its blood centers destroyed. Civilians were urged to support the Ukrainian military and their communities by donating blood because blood is an essential strategic reserve.

To help replenish blood supplies in Ukraine, as blood products will not be shipped outside of the United States, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is donating $5 to the Blood Centers of America Foundation for every successful blood donation made from May 2-May 4, 2022. Fresenius Kabi, a global healthcare company, will match the donations.

"Our mission at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is to help save and sustain lives, and in this case, those lives are in Ukraine," said Theresa Pina, Vice President of Operations at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. "When we feel like there's not much we can do, this gives us a way to help. We can make a difference one donation at a time," Pina said.

Donors can also participate by donating their donor reward points towards the Ukrainian support initiative through Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center's Donor Rewards Store. This opportunity is available May 2-6, 2022.

Donating blood is an easy way to give back to the community, and one donation can save many lives. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center needs 1,000 blood donations a day to meet our community's constant needs. During this nationwide campaign, donors' blood donations go even further by helping those in Ukraine whose lives have been impacted.

Let's work together to save lives and help replenish the blood supplies in Ukraine. For more information or to find a location to donate, visit giveblood.org/SupportUkraine.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is the sole provider of blood and blood components 24/7 to more than 170 hospitals and health care facilities in a 26-county Texas Gulf Coast region. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is a nonprofit organization and is accredited by the Food and Drug Administration.