South Texas Blood & Tissue Center

the staff was super friendly which made it an easy visit.

Awesome first time experience giving blood. Super clean facility. Great staff. Very professional and friendly. Dave up from was informative and warm. Pablo taking my blood was the same way. It was pretty painless and was quick. I will go back for sure. Thank you for the experience.

This location is HUGE. Now I know you’re thinking «large» would probably be an adequate descriptor, but that’s probably because you haven’t been here. This place IS HUGE.
It’s part teaching clinic, part blood donor center, part education area, and I’m sure there’s a bunch of other paperwork and administrative offices housed here that I don’t know about, but it’s still huge.
The main building is also beautiful– kind of an unlikely find for this type of establishment. The glass-​fronted building is downright swanky inside, complete with fancy bathrooms with automatic everything from toilets to water to soap and towel dispensers. Maybe I’m easily impressed though.
But the employees here are the best, too. I’ve usually frequented the Shavano Park location, even when it was out of my way, but now I find myself favoring this one since I live in the medical center. Maybe it’s because this is the training location, or maybe it’s just because it’s a busier location and the demand for good quality service is higher, but I’m always amazed at how thorough and professional everyone is when I come for my usual 8-​week donations. They’re also really, really friendly– sometimes annoyingly so. Usually I’ll bring in a book to read once they get the needle in, but the last couple of times I didn’t even get a chance to crack it open because the phlebotomist was asking so many inquisitive questions and idle chit-​chat that I felt rude not chatting back. Not a problem to me, but if you’re antisocial or hoping to get some work done using their FREE WIFI, you may appreciate the heads up.
You’ll enter in the lobby area and stand awkwardly wondering where to go until you realize that the front reception area IS where you’re supposed to be– hand over your ID and get your forms, fill them out, and you’ll be ushered to a private room for your questions and preliminary health testing. Everything proceeds here in exactly the same way it would at other locations, but you’ll notice there is a large flat screen TV to watch in the main room, which is a nice touch. It’s usually been tuned to the Food Network or morning talk show stuff when I’ve been there.
Two last things to mention:
The free t-​shirts you’re almost always offered when you donate? This is the ONLY location I’ve found a Medium at– everyone else seems to have maybe one Medium and if you don’t get it, you’re given an XL or some other absurd size you can’t actually wear in public. Mad props to this place for having the hookup.
Lastly, the reception area with the snacks. It’s smaller than some other locations but it’s just as well stocked, and seems to have more magazines. If you don’t want to watch TV while you donate, stop by here and grab a mag to read as you wait. And, if you’re me, loop back by on your way out for another bottled water or bag of Goldfish crackers!

I love to give blood here! It is really nice and it seems like it is pretty new. The people that work here are super friendly and they will get you anything you need. The staff knows what they are doing which will put anyone at ease who may be a little nervous about donating. I usually give platelets because you can donate more often. If you are able to you should definitely donate blood. Not only will it save several lives but it could also save yours!

Donating blood is WAY more important than people think. STBTC has several locations around San Antonio, and South TX, plus a plethora of mobile blood buses that reach out to schools, churches, workplaces, and various social groups! I work (and donate) at the Shavano Donor room on 1604, our staff is highly trained, friendly, and attentive. We collect Whole Blood, and Automated (Red Cell/​Platelet) donations, as well as marrow registration. Come check us out, the community needs as many donors as we can get!!!