July 16, 2020 – The American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood
donations to prevent another blood shortage as hospitals resume surgical
procedures and patient treatments that were temporarily paused earlier
this spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent weeks, hospital demand for blood products has grown by 30% after
sharply declining in early April amid this rapidly changing and complex
public health crisis. Healthy donors are needed to make and keep scheduled
appointments to help meet the current need.
In response to the urgent need, blood drives will be hosted at the following
locations:
- Northside Baptist Church, Tuesday, July 21, 1-7 p.m., 935 Chapel Crossing, Brunswick
- Old Middle School Gym, Wednesday, July 22, 12-6 p.m., 468 S. McDonald, Ludowici
- Jekyll Island Presbyterian, Thursday, July 23, 1-5 p.m., 1 Beachview Drive,
Jekyll Island
- College Place United Methodist Church, Monday, July 27, 1-6 p.m., 3890
Altama Avenue, Brunswick
- Blythe Island, Thursday, July 30, 2-6 p.m., 170 Cut Off Road, Brunswick
- Schell & Hogan, Thursday, July 30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 101 Plantation Chase,
St. Simons Island
- Richmond Hill High School, Friday, July 31, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 1 Wildcat Drive,
Richmond Hill
Testing for COVID-19 antibodies will also be administered and results will
be offered via the blood donor app 10 days post donation.
Social distancing protocols will be implemented. There is no data or evidence
that the coronavirus can be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there
have been no reported cases of transfusion transmission for any respiratory
virus including this coronavirus worldwide.
The Red Cross has implemented the following measures to ensure blood drives
are safe for donors and staff, including:
- Checking the temperature of staff and donors before entering to make sure
they are healthy
- Masks will be provided to those that do not have one
- Providing hand sanitizer for use before and throughout the donation process
- Spacing beds, where possible, to follow social distancing practices between
blood donors
- Increasing enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment
At all blood drives, Red Cross employees already follow thorough safety
protocols to help prevent the spread of any type of infection, including:
- Wearing gloves and changing gloves with each donor
- Wearing masks
- Routinely wiping down donor-touched areas
- Using sterile collection sets for every donation
- Preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub
Individuals who would like to donate are asked to make an appointment online
at redcrossblood.org to schedule a time that works for them. Appointments
allow the American Red Cross to exercise social distancing and provide
good donor services. Donors can also save up to 15 minutes at the blood
drive by completing a RapidPass®. With RapidPass®, donors complete
the pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the
day of donation, from a mobile device or computer. To complete a RapidPass®,
follow the instructions at
RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Red Cross Blood Donor App.