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The Los Cabos Community Blood Bank officially launched operations on June 13 during a press conference held at CRIT Los Cabos, marking a significant addition to the region’s healthcare infrastructure. The event also included the unveiling of the Bloodmobile, a specialized mobile unit that will bring blood donation campaigns directly to schools, businesses, hotels, and communities across the municipality.
For a destination that welcomes more than three million visitors annually and is home to over 300,000 residents, the absence of a dedicated blood bank has long represented a critical gap in local healthcare. According to the organization, 93 percent of blood units collected in Baja California Sur have historically come from replacement donations rather than voluntary donors.
Access to blood has been a challenge for years. While local hospitals can perform transfusions, blood availability often depends on patients securing replacement donors, and in some emergency situations, people have been referred to La Paz for treatment, a drive of roughly two to three hours from Los Cabos, depending on traffic and location.
“It’s crazy when you think about it,” Korey Riggs, director of El Dorado Foundation and Chileno Bay Foundation, told Destino last year during an interview. “You have one of the most developed tourist destinations in Mexico, but the nearest reliable blood supply is hours away.”
The new blood bank was established through a partnership between the Los Cabos Community Alliance and several foundations, prominent among which is Heart & Sol Foundation, the philanthropic initiative of Cabo Del Sol. Other supporters include El Dorado Foundation, Chileno Bay Foundation, Querencia Foundation, Fundación Solmar, Costa Palmas Foundation, and Stars and Stripes Foundation.
According to organizers, the initiative is designed as a community-wide resource serving residents, visitors, and patients throughout Los Cabos. “In a medical emergency, these divisions disappear,” Riggs said. “Everyone needs care, and everyone deserves access.”
The organization is currently working toward a fundraising goal of $1.5 million USD to fund an apheresis machine, the Bloodmobile, and the first five years of operation. Nearly $600,000 has already been committed toward that goal, including an initial contribution of $200,000 from Heart & Sol Foundation and an additional $135,000 raised from Cabo Del Sol residents.
The apheresis machine will allow blood to be separated into components such as plasma, platelets, and red blood cells, increasing the number of patients who can benefit from each donation. According to the organization, a single blood donation can save up to three lives.
The Los Cabos Community Blood Bank is now inviting residents, businesses, schools, and organizations to participate by donating blood, contributing financially, or partnering with the Bloodmobile to host future donation drives. Donations can be made through the mobile unit or at the organization’s location in Plaza Novva.