South Texas Blood & Tissue Center

What South Texas Blood & Tissue Center does

South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is the core blood services operating subsidiary of BioBridge Global, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit enterprise founded in 1973 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The organization collects, tests, stores, and distributes blood components—red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate—supplying more than 400,000 units annually to over 100 hospitals across 49 South Texas counties, while operating mobile blood drives, fixed donor centers, and the HemaControl online ordering portal. Its integrated service stack spans cord blood and perinatal tissue banking, tissue recovery, stem cell and marrow donor programs, and advanced therapy biomanufacturing through sister subsidiaries QualTex Laboratories (testing more than 7 million blood and plasma donations per year from facilities in San Antonio and Norcross, Georgia) and BBG Advanced Therapies (cGMP biomanufacturing, leukapheresis, and EU-graded cleanroom manufacturing for biotech and pharma partners).

The business model blends regulated enterprise service revenues with charitable support. Hospital blood supply, contract biological testing, and biomanufacturing services for advanced therapies generate the bulk of operating revenue, supplemented by tissue and cord blood banking services and donations raised through The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. Distribution is achieved through dedicated sales teams to hospitals and biotech customers, direct-to-consumer donor engagement via mobile drives, donor centers, and a scheduling mobile app, and global logistics for advanced therapy materials. The organization differentiates on regulatory firsts—first U.S. civilian blood center FDA-licensed for Cold-Stored Platelets, first North American ISO 9000-certified blood and tissue center, FACT accreditation for its Apheresis Center, and the world's first mobile leukapheresis center—giving it durable advantages in quality, compliance, and decentralized cell collection for cell and gene therapy supply chains.

Name

South Texas Blood & Tissue Center

Legal name

BioBridge Global

Website

https://biobridgeglobal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, a BioBridge Global nonprofit subsidiary, collects, tests, and distributes over 400,000 blood units annually to 100+ South Texas hospitals while operating QualTex Laboratories and BBG Advanced Therapies for testing and cGMP biomanufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blood and Tissue Banking Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (Blood Bank) (HLAFAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cell & Tissue Banking (biobanking, cord blood/tissue) (HLAAAGAE), Sample Logistics, Biorepository & IVD Kit Management (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAI), Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine & Immunohematology (HLAHAAAH), Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Blood banking services
• Tissue recovery services
• Cord blood banking
• Advanced therapy biomanufacturing
• Biological testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Blood Products and Services: Supply of blood components (red blood cells, platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate) to 100+ hospitals in South Texas; provides over 400,000 units of blood annually
2. Testing Services: QualTex Laboratories screens blood and plasma donations and provides biological testing services for national and international biomedical customers
3. Biomanufacturing Services: cGMP biomanufacturing for advanced therapies, process development, and custom manufacturing for biotech and pharma partners
4. Tissue and Cord Blood Services: Collection, processing, storage and distribution of tissue, umbilical cord blood, and perinatal tissue for transplantation and research
5. Charitable Donations: The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation raises funds to support BioBridge Global's lifesaving activities through various giving programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

South Texas Blood & Tissue Center collects, processes, tests, stores, and distributes blood components (red blood cells, platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate) to 100+ hospitals across South Texas, while also recovering and banking tissue, umbilical cord blood, and perinatal tissue, and providing leukapheresis, advanced therapy biomanufacturing, and biological testing services to biotech and pharmaceutical customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GenCure: Biomanufacturing services for advanced therapies (now part of BBG Advanced Therapies)
• Mobile Leukapheresis Center
• Texas Cord Blood Bank
• Heroes in Arms

Products and services

• Blood Services Collection, processing, testing, storage, and distribution of blood components to 100+ hospitals across 49 South Texas counties for use in emergency transfusions, trauma care, surgical procedures, cancer treatment, and maternity care. STB&T provides over 400,000 units of blood annually.
• Testing Services (QualTex Laboratories) Biological testing services including blood and plasma screening, microbiology testing, and advanced therapy testing for national and international blood centers, plasma centers, and biotechnology customers. QualTex tests more than 7 million donations per year using the ACCELERATOR a3600 automation system.
• Biomanufacturing Services (BBG Advanced Therapies) cGMP-compliant biomanufacturing services, process development, and custom manufacturing for biotech and pharmaceutical partners developing cell and gene therapies, operating in EU-graded modular cleanrooms (Grades A-D) with Electronic Batch Records (eBR) for real-time traceability.
• Starting Materials for Cell and Gene Therapies Supply of cellular starting materials, including leukopaks and other cGMP-aligned inputs, used by biotech and pharmaceutical developers for cell and gene therapy manufacturing and clinical trials.
• Mobile Leukapheresis Center World's first mobile leukapheresis center providing on-site immune cell collection for cell and gene therapy developers across South Texas, including Laredo, Rio Grande Valley, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and Victoria, with cGMP-aligned collection protocols and wheelchair-accessible environment.
• Leukapheresis Services Collection of leukocytes and peripheral blood stem cells from donors for cellular therapy and stem cell transplant applications, supporting biotech and pharmaceutical customers as well as clinical transplantation.
• Cord Blood Services Collection, processing, storage, and distribution of umbilical cord blood for stem cell transplantation and research through the Texas Cord Blood Bank, with 14,000+ cord blood units banked.
• Perinatal Tissue Services Collection, processing, and distribution of perinatal tissue (including umbilical cord tissue) for transplantation and research applications.
• Tissue Recovery Services Posthumous tissue recovery and processing for transplantation, conducted in partnership with University Health System, Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, San Antonio Eye Bank, and Donate Life Texas.
• Custom Services Bespoke biomanufacturing, process development, and starting material services tailored to individual biotech and pharmaceutical customer needs for cell and gene therapy development.
• FrontlineODP Spray Dried Plasma System On-demand spray dried plasma production capability stable at ambient temperature and reconstituted in approximately 2.5 minutes, intended for first responders, rural hospitals, military, and mass casualty events. First U.S. civilian blood center installation, in collaboration with Velico, Inc.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides over 400,000 units of blood to healthcare partners annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, minor and major.

• VERIGRAFTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026BBG Advanced Therapies collaboration with VERIGRAFT to support U.S. development readiness for new vein therapy. This partnership advances the development of transformative vein therapies for patients.
• Velico, Inc.flagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025South Texas Blood & Tissue became the first U.S. civilian blood center to install Velico's FrontlineODP system for spray drying human plasma as part of Velico's Blood Center Education Program. The system produces on-demand spray dried plasma stable at ambient temperature.
• National Institutes of Health (All of Us Research Program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022South Texas Blood & Tissue announced partnership with NIH's All of Us Research Program to recruit and engage participants in one of the nation's largest and most diverse health information databases.
• University Health SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership at Center for Life for tissue recovery and organ donation, working together to fulfill donor wishes and help the greatest number of recipients possible.
• Texas Organ Sharing AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for organ and tissue donation coordination, supporting the mission of saving and enhancing lives through the gift of donation.
• San Antonio Eye BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for eye donation and tissue recovery services in the San Antonio area.
• Donate Life TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to promote organ, tissue, and eye donation within the community and donor registration.
• BioMedSAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of member-driven hub that promotes and supports the life sciences industry in San Antonio.
• RegenMed SAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBG Advanced Therapies serves on the steering committee of RegenMed SA, collaborating with academic, clinical, and industry partners to advance stem cell science and translational research in San Antonio.
• The Health CellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with biotechnology, medical, military and academic leadership to promote professional development and collaboration in the local healthcare community.
• H-E-BmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor benefactor ($100,000-$249,999 in 2024) and community partner for blood drives and lifesaving initiatives in South Texas.
• National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTBTC joined the National Marrow Donor Program registry program and began collecting umbilical cord blood. NMDP is a benefactor supporting donor recruitment programs.
• San Antonio SpursmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSports partnership for blood drives and community engagement events with the San Antonio Spurs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Be The Match / National Marrow Donor Program: Operates the U.S. marrow donor registry and cord blood banks; strategic partner to STB&T and comparable operator of cellular therapy donor registries and cord blood infrastructure.

Direct peers

• New York Blood Center: Large nonprofit blood center serving the NY/NJ metro area with integrated research and cell therapy capabilities; comparable mission, scale, and integrated services structure.
• American Red Cross Biomedical Services: The largest U.S. blood collection organization, operating ~600 collection regions nationally; directly comparable as a blood products and transfusion services provider with similar hospital customer model.
• OneBlood: Large regional blood center serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas; comparable geographic-concentrated nonprofit blood bank model with similar hospital partner network.
• Creative Testing Solutions: High-volume blood and plasma testing laboratory serving multiple U.S. blood centers; directly comparable to QualTex Laboratories' biological testing services business.
• Carter BloodCare: Texas-based regional blood center headquartered in Bedford, TX serving hospitals across North, Central, and East Texas; directly comparable regional nonprofit peer within the same state.
• Vitalant: One of the largest U.S. blood collection networks (formerly Blood Systems) serving 1,000+ hospitals; comparable regional blood banking model with diversified testing and donor services operations.

Emerging players

• HemaCare/HemaBio (Charles River Laboratories Cell Therapy Services): Provider of leukapheresis collections and cell therapy starting materials to biotech/pharma; directly comparable to BBG Advanced Therapies' leukapheresis and starting materials business line.

Regional players

• San Diego Blood Bank: Regional blood center serving Southern California hospitals; comparable regional donation model with cellular therapy and cord blood offerings.
• Memorial Blood Centers: Upper Midwest regional blood center serving MN and WI; comparable regional nonprofit model with hospital supply agreements and apheresis services for cellular therapy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/connectforlife
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SouthTexasBlood
• Facebookfacebook.com/connectforlife
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southtexasbloodandtissue
• Instagraminstagram.com/southtexasblood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Texas Blood & Tissue Center