It’s not only safe to give blood, it’s critical as canceled drives drains supplies
Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the American Red Cross says donating blood is not only safe but, with the cancellation of thousands of blood drive nationwide, it’s more vital now than ever.
When the virus, also called COVID-19, began spreading in the U.S., it forced schools, hospitals and churches to cancel many pre-planned blood drives. This resulted in more than 3,000 fewer donations in the Red Cross of Missouri-Illinois chapter’s region, said spokesman Joe Zydlo.
About 75% of those cancellations were in the St. Louis area.
“It really wiped us out,” he said. “Nationwide, (the Red Cross) has had over 6,000 drives canceled, which has resulted in more than 200,000 fewer donations ... It’s staggering.”
In the metro-east area, there is a donor center in Fairview Heights at 10886 Lincoln Trail. Zydlo urged potential donors to schedule an appointment by phone or online rather than risk breaking social distancing guidelines as a walk-in donor.
“The best thing someone can do if they want to donate is to go to redcross.org and find their local center by entering their zip code,” he said. “We don’t want people just walking in. We’ve seen wonderful support, but at the same time, we want to be mindful of policies.”
Zydlo said it is safe to donate.
There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transferred by blood transfusion. Everyone who enters the donor centers, including staff, has their temperature taken immediately, Zydlo said. If someone’s temperature is 99.5 degrees or higher, they are asked to leave.
“They won’t even begin the process,” Zydlo said.
The Red Cross has taken extra measures amid the spread of the coronavirus by reinforcing its sterilization process for equipment, making sure staff disinfect surfaces twice, encouraging the use of hand sanitizer before and after donation and requiring staff to wear gloves.
“These are all things we do anyway, but want to do it extra to be on safe side,” Zydlo said. “We want to assure people that it’s safe to donate.”
At the moment, Zydlo said it would be hard for Red Cross donor centers to start a drive-thru donation process because of FDA regulations, but said that the organization is exploring options to see what’s safest to keep the centers clear of “too many people at once.”
One of those options is asking people to wait in their cars and receive a text letting them know when it’s OK for them to come in, Zydlo said.
“If there are no open appointment slots online, it means we’re packed and booked and (potential donors) need to try another day,” he said. “We are asking people to be patient. This is unprecedented right now and it’s a fluid situation. We are trying to continue on with what’s going on and that’s all we can do.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 2:07 PM.
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