South Texas Blood & Tissue Center

THE SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER SUPPLIES BLOOD TO MORE THAN 100 HOSPITALS IN SOUTH TEXAS AND SUPPORTS TISSUE, RESEARCH/NEW THERAPIES AND UMBILICAL (SEE SCHEDULE O)

THE SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER (STBTC) SPECIALIZES IN COLLECTING AND PROVIDING LIFE-SAVING BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS TO HOSPITALS AND PATIENTS IN THE SOUTH TEXAS REGION AND BEYOND. WE MEET THIS COMMITMENT THROUGH OUR GENEROUS DONORS, WHO HELP SAVE LIVES EVERY DAY BY GIVING OF THEMSELVES. STBTC DREW NEARLY 121,248 LIFE-SAVING RED BLOOD CELL UNITS AND NEARLY 22,419 PLATELET UNITS IN 2022. THE CENTER FOR ADVANCED THERAPIES INCLUDES THE LIFE LEGACIES TISSUE DEPT., APHERESIS SERVICES, THE CORD BLOOD/BIRTH TISSUE PROGRAM AND CLINICAL & RESEARCH OPERATIONS. THE LIFE LEGACIES TISSUE DEPARTMENT GREW OVERALL DONORS RECOVERED BY 2.2% AND SKIN TISSUE RECOVERIES BY 50% IN 2022 OVER THE PRIOR YEAR. TISSUE DONATION HELPS SAVE AND IMPROVE THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS INDIVIDUALS IN NEED OF TRANSPLANTS AND MEDICAL TREATMENTS. BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER FOUNDATION FUNDING HELPED TO SEND A DONOR'S FAMILY TO THE ROSE BOWL PARADE IN PASADENA, CA, WHERE THEY RODE THE "DONATE LIFE" FLOAT AND A BEAUTIFUL FLORAGRAPH PICTURE OF THEIR LOVED ONE WAS ALSO ON THE FLOAT. OUR TISSUE PROGRAM HAS PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TISSUE DONATION AND IS SUCCESSFULLY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED TISSUE DONORS IN SOUTH TEXAS, CONTRIBUTING TO A LARGER DONOR POOL AND PROVIDING HOPE TO THOSE AWAITING LIFE-SAVING TREATMENTS. OUR APHERESIS PROGRAM BECAME FACT (FOUNDATION FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF CELLULAR THERAPY) ACCREDITED IN FEBRUARY 2022! 169 PERIPHERAL BLOOD STEM CELL (PBSC) AND MONONEUCLEIC CELL (MNC) COLLECTIONS WERE PROVIDED TO PATIENTS FOR BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS FROM OUR PROGRAM. FUNDS FROM FOUNDATION DONORS ASSISTED IN A MEETING OF A DONOR AND A RECIPIENT IN LONDON IN 2022 AS THE RECIPIENT ASKED THE LIFE-SAVING DONOR TO ATTEND HER WEDDING. THIS PBSC DONOR IS ALSO A STAFF MEMBER OF OUR BE THE MATCH PROGRAM. THE APHERESIS CENTER ALSO HAD 44 MNC COLLECTIONS IN 2022 THAT WERE USED FOR RESEARCH. THE CORD BLOOD & BIRTH TISSUE PROGRAMS SENT 11 LIFE SAVING CORD BLOOD UNITS FOR TRANSPLANT IN 2022 AND BANKED ANOTHER 31 UNITS FOR POTENTIAL FUTURE USE. CORD BLOOD CONTAINS STEM CELL WHICH CAN BE USED TO TREAT A VARIETY OF DISEASES AND CONDITIONS INCLUDING LEUKEMIA, LYMPOHOMA, SICKLE CELL ANEMIA AND MORE. CORD BLOOD HAS BEEN USED TO TREAT OVER 80 DIFFERENT DISEASES AND DISORDERS. 874 UNITS OF BIRTH TISSUE (PLACENTA & CORD TISSUE) WERE COLLECTED IN 2022. BIRTH TISSUE CONTAINS MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS, WHICH HAVE THE ABILITY TO DIFFERENTIATE INTO A VARIETY OF CELL TYPES TO TREAT CONDITIONS SUCH AS ARTHRITIS, SPINAL CORD INJURIES AND DAMAGED TISSUE. BIRTH TISSUE ALSO PROVIDES ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FACTORS, CYTOKINES AND GROWTH FACTOR THAT PROMOTE AND ENHANCE TISSUE HEALTH. CORD BLOOD AND BIRTH TISSUE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE COUNTLESS LIVES WHERE ONE PERSON'S DONATION HEALS MANY. CLINICAL & RESEARCH OPERATIONS PERFORMED 650 RESEARCH COLLECTIONS IN 2022 FOR A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS AND STUDIES. OUR RESEARCH DONOR REGISTRY GREW TO 25,000+ POTENTIAL DONORS. WE ARE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL OF US, A RESEARCH PROGRAM FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH FOR WHICH WE COLLECTED 155 BIOSAMPLES IN 2022. ALL OF US AIMS TO HAVE ONE MILLION OR MORE VOLUNTEERS WHO REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THE US. RESEARCHERS MAY USE THE PARTICIPANT DATA COLLECTED TO STUDY MANY DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, INCLUDING CANCER, DIABETES, DEPRESSION, ASTHMA, AND OTHER DISEASES. AS RESEARCHERS STUDY OUR HEALTH DATA, THEY MAY FIND PATTERNS. THESE PATTERNS CAN HELP THEM UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENT PEOPLE REACT TO DIFFERENT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PLANS. OUR PARTICIPATION IS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD & TISSUE TO CONTINUE TO LEAD THE WAY TO BETTER HEALTH FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.

COMMUNITY LABS IS A DISREGARDED NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS TO CREATE COVID-19 SAFETY ZONES AND A PATHWAY FOR SCHOOLS TO REOPEN, PEOPLE TO RETURN TO WORK AND COMMUNITIES TO RECOVER. TO ACHIEVE OUR MISSION, WE WORK WITH A LOCAL SPECIALIZED LAB THAT PROVIDES 24-HOUR TEST RESULTS AND A LESS INVASIVE TEST BY SWABBING THE FRONT OF THE NOSTRIL. ON JULY 1ST, 2022, THE MANAGING MEMBER CHANGED FROM SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER TO AN UNRELATED NON-PROFIT.