The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) has begun testing all blood donations for the Zika virus, following recommendations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA instructed blood centers in Texas and 10 other states at high risk for active Zika transmission to begin testing in September. Eventually, all blood centers across the country will be required to test for the virus.
Testing for the Zika virus is being done by QualTex Laboratories, which like STBTC is a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit BioBridge Global. QualTex performs the Zika test at the same time it is testing for 12 other blood-borne pathogens.
“The safety of the blood supply is our top concern every day,” said Dr. Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul, associate medical director. “The Zika test is an important part of that concern, and it does not change the blood donation process at all.”
To stay ahead of Zika – which has been linked to birth defects and neurological problems in adults --- STBTC began testing donations for Zika on July 5. The center was the second in the United States to announce testing for the virus.
Any donor who tests positive for Zika will be notified.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 80 percent of people who have contracted Zika show no symptoms, which makes testing blood donations all the more vital. A person who feels well may actually have the virus while donating blood. And unlike other mosquito-borne viruses such as West Nile, Zika can be transmitted through sexual contact, which poses an additional public health risk, and to unborn babies by their mothers.
Here are the blood drives in Eagle Pass in October:
CC Winn High School
Oct. 5
265 Foster Maldonado
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Southwest Texas Jr. College
Oct. 19
4003 Highway 277 SE
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
All donors must present identification. Anyone who is 16 years old and weighs at least 120 pounds (with a parental consent form), or 17 years old and weighs at least 110 pounds, and is in good general health may donate blood. Learn more about blood donation at www.southtexasblood.org.
News about the Zika virus is available on the BioBridge Global website, and general information is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.