As the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to impact our communities, the American Red Cross is working to ensure that we continue to carry out the all aspects of our lifesaving mission, including providing critical disaster relief services, emergency communications for the military and their families, critical training services and blood service. We are working with public health officials to ensure the safety of local communities and our workforce, while still providing the help and hope they need should disasters strike, whether large or small.
As a primary producer of blood and blood products in the United States, we need your help ensuring we have a sufficient blood supply to support hospital patients in Ohio and across the country. The American Red Cross is working to continue delivering our mission, including the collection of lifesaving blood, but we have had a staggering number of scheduled Red Cross blood drives cancelled as more workplaces, college campuses and other venues send people home and encourage social distancing. Disruptions to blood donations can lead to shortages and cause delays in essential medical care.
As concerns about the coronavirus pandemic rise, we need your help to communicate three vital messages to the public:
• Donating blood is a safe process and people should not be concerned about giving or receiving blood during this challenging time.
• More healthy donors are needed to give now to prevent a blood shortage.
• Keep scheduled blood drives, which will allow donors the opportunity to give blood.
As an emergency preparedness organization, the Red Cross has also taken additional steps to ensure the safety of staff and donors at each Red Cross blood drive.
• The Red Cross only collects blood from individuals who are healthy and feeling well at the time of donation – and who meet other eligibility requirements, available at RedCrossBlood.org.
• We are now pre-screening all individuals by checking their temperature before they enter any Red Cross blood drive or donation center, including our own staff and volunteers.
• At each blood drive and donation center, Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols including wearing gloves, routinely wiping down donor-touched areas, using sterile collection sets for every donation, and preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub.
• Additional spacing has been implemented within each blood drive set up to incorporate social distancing measures between donation beds and stations within the blood drive.
• The average blood drives are only 20-30 people and are not large gatherings.
These mitigation measures will help to keep blood recipients, staff and donors safe.
We’re asking the American people to give blood during this challenging time, and we are asking you as a community leader to help communicate this critical need. Those who are healthy, feeling well and eligible to give blood or platelets, are urged to make an appointment to donate as soon as possible by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
