Blood banks have a difficult time collecting blood during the winter due to cold weather and seasonal illnesses. Add in a worldwide pandemic and hospitals all over the country are desperate for your blood. After giving away your A, B, or O blood, you may be thinking what other things you can donate? With over 800 centers across the country, one of the most convenient options is plasma donation. Sperm donation is less risky and can happen frequently.

SAN ANTONIO – As the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continues to rise in Bexar County, there is still a great need for convalescent plasma to treat the disease. The new vaccines are an effective tool against COVID-19, but you will no longer be able to donate convalescent plasma if you get one. Dr. Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul, associate medical director at BioBridge Global, said the vaccines and convalescent plasma don’t exactly mix. “If you are donating COVID convalescent plasma and you do receive the vaccine, you are not able to donate convalescent plasma,” Ngamsuntikul said. “You are still able to donate whole blood and platelets.”Ngamsuntikul says it’s crucial to donate blood right now.

SAN ANTONIO – As coronavirus cases surge nationwide, so does the need for convalescent plasma from former patients to treat those who are currently sick. A mobile blood and plasma drive on Wednesday attracted huge crowds to the city’s East Side, where residents got screened and donated plasma rich with COVID-19 antibodies. A mobile blood and plasma drive held by the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center along with West Care Texas filled the parking lot at the Ella Austin community center. “We are seeing an increase in the number of convalescent plasma that we are sending out to local hospitals. In order to keep up with the current demand for convalescent plasma, local doctors say they need about 40 plasma donations per day.

SAN ANTONIO – If you’ve recovered from Covid-19, you could get paid to help others heal from the virus. A new initiative in Bexar County is underway, aimed at getting people who have Covid-19 antibodies to donate their plasma, which in turn could save lives of people suffering from severe cases. Through her five donations, Caporale estimates her plasma has been transfused into 15 very sick patients. “Only hundreds of the 40,000 have actually donated plasma,” Rodriguez said. RELATED: ‘It saved my life’: COVID-19 survivors reflect on importance of convalescent plasma donations

SAN ANTONIO As requests for COVID-19 convalescent plasma spiked in late spring and early summer, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center needed more support, so a team from Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston stepped in and played a crucial role in collecting and distributing convalescent plasma. Twelve soldiers spent 30 days helping at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. Freed was part of the team of soldiers that helped at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center in San Antonio. Freed said this job also helped soldiers gain experience for future deployments where they would need to collect blood during a mass casualty event. They expect to help the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center again.

After spending weeks in the hospital and on a ventilator, a plasma donation helped Dorrian regain the strength to breath on his own. But with more requests from hospitals coming in, the donation center says they need more donors to keep up with rising demand. Click here to learn more about plasma donation. One blood donation can save up to three lives. To schedule a blood donation, visit SouthTexasBlood.org.

SAN ANTONIO – According to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, convalescent plasma is urgently needed in Bexar County to help critically ill patients diagnosed with COVID-19. “We’re shipping out 80 to 100 units of convalescent plasma a day to our local hospitals (with patients) that are critically ill,” Waltman said. John (left) and Deb (right) Almarez donate convalescent plasma on a regular basis since April. The couple has directly impacted up to 100 COVID-19 critically ill patients in San Antonio. According to the STBTC, they’re currently the only organization in South Texas that provides convalescent plasma directly to critically ill patients.

SAN ANTONIO The only thing good to say about San Antonio's spike in Covid-19 cases is that there will be potentially many more people who can donate their antibodies to those who are newly sick. Dr. Rahaf Alkahateb, a University Hospital transfusion medicine fellow, said the surge of new cases is putting their work front and center. As of today, over 118,000 patients received convalescent plasma all over the state in our hospitals so far, she said. RELATED: Need for convalescent plasma, COVID-19 medicine worries San Antonio-area doctorsIn just the last two weeks, 50 of those patients were at University Hospital, a part of the spike San Antonio is now seeing of Covid-19. RELATED: Plasma donations sought in San Antonio to help treat COVID-19 patients

SAN ANTONIO As hospitalizations for COVID-19 rise dramatically in the San Antonio area, so does the demand for convalescent plasma and other treatments now feared to be in short supply. San Antonio couple undergoes different COVID-19 experiences, uses plasma to help othersThe steroid drug is used to decrease the massive amounts of painful inflammation most coronavirus patients suffer. While some hospitals locally reported they ran out of it on Monday, Chalaby said CHRISTUS Santa Rosas supply is holding steady. Wednesdays convalescent plasma drive in New Braunfels is being held in association with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. While most of the donation appointments are filled already, its hoped that walk-up donors will be able to offer their plasma as well.

The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is seeking people who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate plasma to help with current patients suffering from the disease. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, 45 units of plasma had been sent to local hospitals with several orders still pending. In June, close to 1,000 units of convalescent plasma has been sent to local hospitals. We were able to give plasma when we had few patients. Now that the amount of patients is so high, there are several patients we havent been able to give plasma at all.The organization is seeking anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 to see if they are eligible to donate.

SAN ANTONIO The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center says plasma donations are needed now more than ever, whether donors have had the coronavirus or not. The STBTC said plasma donations are essential for life-saving medicines for a number of conditions. While plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 can be used to make antibodies for other patients, plasma from healthy donors is desperately needed to treat people with serious or rare diseases, which often have few other treatment options. For more information, or to make an appointment to donate, click here. RELATED: San Antonio doctor who survived COVID-19 saving lives with his plasma

SAN ANTONIO The recent surge of coronavirus cases in Bexar County and across Texas is putting new demand on doctors. But not because he is treating patients with COVID-19, but because he is saving them in a unique way. San Antonio couple undergoes different COVID-19 experiences, uses plasma to help othersThe HEALTHTEXAS family physician thinks he got COVID-19 while on spring break with his family in Colorado, which turned out to be a hot spot for travelers in March. Now hes back at work and donating his plasma at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center on a regular basis. The antibodies are helping treat dozens of critically ill coronavirus patients.