Blood and Organ Banks NAICS 621991

Nov 10, 2025 - Texas Law Intended To Protect Privacy may Drive Down Donations

• A new Texas law that bars medical examiners from making public the names of deceased individuals’ family members in most circumstances may drive down tissue and corneal donations because officials in Bexar County have interpreted the law as prohibiting the disclosure of contact information for decedents’ next-of-kin, including to eye and tissue banks. The law was meant to shield grieving relatives from unwanted calls from lawyers and funeral home marketers but may negatively impact more organ banks if similar legislation is passed elsewhere. Donated tissue is used to treat burns, repair joints, rebuild damaged bones, replace heart valves, and for other medical purposes. The new Texas law and Bexar County's response to it affect tissue recovery from donors who died outside hospitals. In such cases, tissue centers contact next-of-kin to confirm that the deceased consented to the collection of their tissue and to allow family members to specify what kind of tissue can be recovered and where it can be used: locally, nationally, or internationally. South Texas Blood & Tissue, San Antonio’s only tissue recovery agency, used to arrange an average of 11 donations a month using next-of-kin information from the medical examiner’s office but that number dropped to five in August.
• The US Department of Defense has allocated more than $58 million to help fund a consortium that's developing synthetic blood and other components that enable clotting and maintain blood pressure. The goal is to develop artificial blood that could be stored in powdered form and reconstituted by medics on the spot to save lives. The synthetic blood is made from hemoglobin, the protein that nourishes the body with oxygen. Researchers extract hemoglobin from expired blood and enclose the protein in a bubble of fat, essentially creating artificial red blood cells. The artificial red blood cells are then freeze-dried into a powder that remains shelf-stable for years, according to the researchers.

• An increasing number of blood drives aim to increase the number of blood donations by both people and pets. One such drive invited employees of Mars Veterinary Health to visit the Mars Petcare headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, to donate blood with the American Red Cross of Tennessee and also have their dogs screened as potential blood donors through the BluePearl Pet Blood Bank. Around 950 dogs and cats currently participate in the pet blood bank program. One blood donation from a cat or dog can save the lives up to three other pets, according to Lenore Bacek, vice president of clinical affairs at BluePearl Pet Hospital. BluePearl Pet Blood Bank sends a notification to pet parents of donors whenever their blood is used to help another pet.
• Blood and organ bank industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Blood and organ banks increased prices slightly during the first eight months of 2025, according to the BLS. The National Organ Transplant Act makes the act of buying and selling organs and tissues illegal but operators can charge fees for collecting, shipping, processing, marketing, and implanting them.