To sign up visit: American Red Cross Donate
We understand why people may be hesitant to come out for a blood drive, but want to reassure the public that we have implemented additional precautions to ensure the safety of our donors and staff in response to concern, including:
Checking temperatures of staff and donors before entering a drive to make sure they are healthy.
Providing hand sanitizer for use before the drive, as well as throughout the donation process.
Following social distancing between donors including entry, donation and refreshment areas.
Routinely disinfecting surfaces, equipment and donor-touched areas.
Wearing gloves, and changing gloves often.
Using sterile collection sets and an aseptic scrub for every donation.
Staff wearing basic face masks.
Donors are asked to schedule an appointment prior to arriving at the drive and are required to wear a face covering or mask while at the drive in alignment with new CDC public guidance.
Important news as of June 15! The American Red Cross will begin testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies on June 15. The Red Cross will use the antibody test authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which will indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to the coronavirus, regardless of whether they developed symptoms. Blood, platelet and plasma donations will be tested using samples obtained at the time of donation and sent to a testing laboratory where they will also undergo routine screening and infectious disease testing. Red Cross donors can expect to receive the results of their antibody test within 7 to 10 days through our Red Cross Blood Donor App or on our donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org. As we anticipate that there will be increased public interest in donating, we are emphasizing that all donors need to schedule an appointment. This is especially important during this pandemic where we need to ensure we follow appropriate safety precautions including social distancing. See more info at https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/covid-19-antibody-testing.html