“We filter the unit and we also manufacture byproducts to include a plasma, a random donor platelet, a buffy coat. So there’s byproducts that are made within the donation we receive,” said Julian Salcido, Component Manufacturing Manager of the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.
“If those transfused to other patient, a recipient, that could attack your immune and you could have a reaction,” Salcido said.Each unit, which equates to one donation per person, produces three products:When asked how many units, on average, are sent to hospital systems each day Salcido replied, “not enough.”
“I just don’t have the words, Myra,” Salcido said. “It’s hard. You know, it’s hard because some of us are parents. We regrouped, right? And in the end of the day, we just had to do what we had to do. End of story.”