'This is the time to give:' Vitalant opens new blood, plasma donor site in Tempe

Emily Wilder
Arizona Republic

National blood donation nonprofit Vitalant opened its new donor center in Tempe on Thursday morning with Mayor Corey Woods among the first to give blood there.

The facility, located on 14th Street between 52nd Street and Priest Drive in Tempe, is the state's new headquarters, hosting not only the donor center but also research operations, laboratories, a call center and a warehouse.

Woods addressed members of the press and the community outside of the center before a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He emphasized the importance of donating during the COVID-19 pandemic, as blood suppliers struggle with lower donation rates and healthcare providers explore the use of plasma from survivors as an experimental treatment for the virus.

"Whatever you can do, whether you're giving blood, whether you're giving plasma, this is the time to give. It's critically important that we get through this pandemic, but the best way to do it is together," Woods said.

The mayor was first introduced to Vitalant when they contacted him and asked him to give convalescent plasma after he recovered from COVID-19 over the summer. He donated at a Vitalant drive in Phoenix on Sept. 30, 2020.

"You know it's going to do something really good in providing therapy and treatment for people who are trying to get past COVID-19," Woods said.

Tempe mayor Corey Woods (right) speaks with assistant donor care supervisor Jennifer Botiller (left) at the Vitalant blood donor center in Tempe on Feb. 18, 2021.

Since the early 1900s, plasma has been used as a medical treatment for viruses like measles, polio, SARS, Ebola and H1N1. The treatment works by taking antibodies from survivors of the viruses and giving them to other patients to help fend off infections.

Convalescent plasma is not yet an FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19, but it is currently authorized for emergency usage in clinical trials and individual cases that meet certain criteria. Some health care providers and patients say they have seen promising results of the therapy.

Organizations like Vitalant and the American Red Cross have been collecting plasma from donors across Arizona as early as April 2020.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Woods, Councilmember Robin Arredondo-Savage and several Tempe first responders were the center's inaugural donors. They were joined by four Tempe residents who have cumulatively given blood more than 2,000 times, as well as Tempe father David Rees who survived leukemia thanks to 37 different donors.

The new Tempe headquarters are Vitalant's 130th collection site in the country. The nonprofit is Arizona’s largest community blood donation coordinator, providing blood transfusions to all hospitals in Maricopa County and the majority of hospitals statewide, according to a company statement.

Donations from Arizona also support patients across the entire country, and are especially critical in the east and the south while current winter storms limit donations.

Reach breaking news editor Mike Cruz at michael.cruz@azcentral.com or on Twitter at @mikecnews