Blood centers call for donations to help Uvalde shooting victims

UVALDE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The surviving victims in the Uvalde shooting are in need of blood.  

Carter BloodCare, along with nine other blood centers, sent several liters of O-negative blood to South Texas to help its colleagues at South Texas Blood & Tissue fulfill hospital requests. 

"When these unimaginable and tragic incidents happen, we need to be able to help the community that needs it," said Veronica Moore, Vice President of Organizational Relations at Carter BloodCare.

Moore told CBS 11 News that while more people have been donating the past couple months, there is still a great need for O-negative blood. 

"O-negative continues to be in critical shortage at Carter BloodCare. That's the blood type that is used when there's accidents or incidents where there's not enough time to find out the patient's blood type, but you have to be able to meet those needs and help stop that blood loss," added Moore. 

The tragedy in Uvalde rattled many North Texans like Adina Ayala. "There's just no words with the heartbreak and what those families and what everyone is going through."

This morning, Ayala thought about her son who went to class today. "My heart just sank."

So she felt compelled to do something to help, so this morning she made an appointment at Carter BloodCare in Fort Worth and donated blood. 

"Anyway that we can help, this is kind of our way of speaking to them, letting them know that we're here for them and we're thinking about them and we're praying for them," added Ayala. 

She is one of many doing something hundreds of miles away with a gift that can save lives. 

The American Red Cross, North Texas Region sent CBS 11 News this statement:

"The thoughts and deepest sympathies of the entire American Red Cross family are with the people of Uvalde and those affected by the tragic shooting on May 24.  

The Red Cross and its volunteers continue to coordinate our efforts with the Department of Public Safety, the City of Uvalde, and Uvalde County to assist family members of the victims. 

We appreciate the outpouring of support and of community members reaching out to the Red Cross to offer their help during this challenging moment. At this time, we have all the resources and assistance we need. We will continue to coordinate with local officials and community partners to determine how we can best support the Uvalde community in the days and weeks ahead.

While we do not typically serve hospitals in this area of Texas, the American Red Cross stands ready to provide blood and blood products as needed in response to this tragedy."

Donors can schedule a time to donate blood by visiting CarterBloodCare.org, or calling or texting 800-366-2834.