I haven't noticed anything particularly different.

Seems like a good day to pick up some Southside stock though.

We are shipping blood to the pacific Nw. They are in crisis mode. Their blood banks are struggling due to all the cancellations and quarantines by big employers and schools.

Current local inventory levels are not ideal and if people continue to panic and start to do the same here it will effect us locally.

Gregg County confirmed a case.

which one of you did it

Smith county has three confirmed cases now.

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/coronavirus-in-smith-county-officials-confirm-cases-in-serious-condition/article_9891aefa-6535-11ea-91b9-ef185b77d9d5.html

I know I know.... buy an ad... but I'm gonna make an appeal to all the ETX Ags.....

As of now...We need to make up 200-400 blood donation per day due to school/universities/business cancelations.
If the trend continues it could be up to 700 donations per day that we are losing.

If you are healthy and eligible, and if you know people that are healthy and eligible please come to
The carter bloodcare donor center near you over the next couple weeks.
We are about to be in a world of hurt.

I just passed a guy on the side of the road in Palestine selling toilet paper out the the back of his truck. He had a cardboard sign that said 50 per sheet.

Strange days we are living in.

I had cancer ~11 years ago (no chemo, but elevated AFP marker). I'm good to give now right?

Depends on the cancer. But it is possible.

Pm me the details and I'm happy to look up, if you don't want to disclose publicly.

Testicular cancer, no chemo, but elevated alpha-fetoprotein blood marker at the time. No relapse and was given all-clear in 2009.

RockOn said:

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Testicular cancer, no chemo, but elevated alpha-fetoprotein blood marker at the time. No relapse and was given all-clear in 2009.

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As long as you pass everything else, you should be good to go. I think that particular cancer is only a 2 year deferral after clean and clear.

No we do not. We are a not for profit blood center that provides 100% of the blood to ETX hospitals for transfusion services. FDA regulations do not allow us to pay for blood. It can compromise the safety of the product by placing an incentive for people to be less than honest about their health history.

There is a plasma center in town that will pay you for plasma but it is not used in any hosptial for transfusion. They re sell it to plasma fractionation companies who make pharmaceuticals off of it.

Aggiebrewer said:

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I'm well aware of Stewart blood centers mission


I'm suggesting paying for donations as a way to get more donations

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FDA regulations prohibit it. We used to be able to use gift cards as a non monetary " incentive", but new regulations came out this year and we can't do that anymore.

Most all E TX schools are canceled for the upcoming week. Kid's sports have followed suit. I hope things get back to normal fast but I worry this will take much more than a week. I had tickets to take my son to his first Mavs game today.

I'll just leave these here:

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/blood-business-pits-charities-against-one-another/149018311

https://oklahoman.com/article/4985779/what-many-donors-dont-know-their-blood-is-sold

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/07/business/all-about-blood-banks-a-multibillion-dollar-business-in-a-nonprofit-world.html

Did you know the NFL was a non profit up until a few years ago?

If you want to have a discussion on how our operations sustain themselves, I am happy to do so.

You are welcome to come by my office anytime and I'll give you a tour of what it takes to get blood on the shelf of a hospital.

It's no secret that then end product is sold through our service contracts. bills have to be paid, staff has to be trained and employed, testing and regulatory hurdles have to be met, all the while balancing a budget and operating around a 1% margin to have money for investment, facilities and unexpected costs (like new test for new diseases (Zika, etc).

ETA: It's funny the tone of each of those articles... they are old hit pieces by "investigative" journalist designed to spark outrage and incite jealousy. The fact that an MD makes 6 figures should not be surprising. The expertise and knowledge and the fact that they can be held personally responsible (legally, financially) for the operations comes with a cost. It is their neck on the line if something goes wrong or compliance is not adhered to.

Those articles also conveniently came out when a new start up (blood buy) was feeding the stories to gain market share for their for profit business and disparage the current market stake holder in the eye of the public so as to help them make gains.

Last edit: i hope you really aren't comparing the nfl to the vital role blood plays in our health care system. Many of the advancements in medicine to treat heart disease, cancer, emergent needs, would not be possible with out blood products. I think the community value is a bit more important than the nfl.

Again. You (or any other ETX Ag) are welcome to come by anytime. shoot me a pm and I'll get it on my calendar. Would love to discuss and we can go grab a beer afterwards.

Aggiebrewer said:

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govt regs

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Agree for the most part. They can be very onerous and the unintended consequences of them are hard to overcome. But, they do provide strict guidance to ensure that the blood being transfused is as safe as possible for the patient. That is our #1 focus, as our blood stays local (as much as possible) those are our friends/families and neighbors that we are helping and we want to ensure that it is safe.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the marketing of blood banks. If someone sneezes, a statement is coming out that sneezing is causing a shortage at blood banks in the region and "we need you help!" It's very disingenuous.

I can understand that sentiment. It does get old having to constantly ask for donors. It seems like everytime we just get back to normal operations something happens and donors disappear. We generally like to keep about a 3 day supply on our shelves at all times. To account for emergent needs, loss of drives or losing collection days due to external events. Early reports in regards to this current situation is that we have lost over 800 expected donations just for next week. That's 8 days of supply. (ETX only, I can share regional and national numbers if you like) Before this became an issue we were at about a 2 day supply of blood... come mid week next week, we will be at less than a 1 day supply if things don't turn around quickly and we find donors to replace those lost drives.

, the need is also very constant and steady and blood has an expiration. Red cells have a shelf life of 42 days, platelets 5 days from the date of collection. Testing generally takes about 48 hours, so we have 40 days on red cells and 3 days on platelets. Plasma can be frozen for up to 1 year, liquid plasma has a shelf life of 26 days.

While blood donors can only donate every 56 days, which leave a 14 day gap we have to find an additional donor to fill the gap. However, the average donor only donates 1.5x per year so we are constantly having to find new donors to fill the gaps.

Platelet donors can give every 2 weeks. Most come about 3-4x per year. That leaves us ALOT of platelet donors we have to market to constantly to maintain the community supply.

Annually we ship over 40,000 units of blood products (red cells, platelets and plasma) just within East Texas. Just over 100 units per day, we have to see 150-200 donors per day to meet this demand( account for deferrals, quarantine units, etc)....

With only about 37% of the population eligible to donate and less than 5% actually giving blood it kind of makes sense that we have to constantly be in the market to find donors.

Hope this information helps. Again, let me know if you want a tour and to see the behind the scenes. Happy to do so.

Aggiebrewer said:

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My dad was Type O so we got calls from Stewart monthly back in the day

I used to play in the spot where Stewart is. We had a tree house there. Picked about a million blackberries there too.

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That's very cool. Would you happen to have any pictures from that time?

I am working on a history of the blood center type presentation and that would be a fun thing to add.

Any insights on how the real estate market is doing? Know its early....

TJC announced they are starting back with on campus classes on 3/30.

that maybe a bit premature

8 cases in Tyler

Aggiebrewer said:

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Any hospitalized?

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Yes

4 cases have a link to The Cascades and the Cascades shut down their full operation including Golf Friday. The origin was a couple who traveled to Mexico, wife hospitalized in Tyler and husband transferred to Dallas. That's the information that I've been able to source. That makes it travel related to community spread.