Hospitals are in need of blood donations to prevent a shortage in the coming weeks, now that hospitals will resume elective surgeries.
Officials acknowledge that people may have anxiety about giving blood during a pandemic.
Kelly Isenor of the Red Cross says donors will see some differences when they give at a blood drive.
“They’ll be taking your temperature, asking you to use hand sanitizer, and there’s a series of health questions about potential exposures to someone who has had COVID-19 or a suspected case of COVID-19. As long as you’re able to meet the criteria, you can go inside and the blood drive sort of picks up as normal.”
Officials are also asking businesses that have been shut by the pandemic to host blood drives.
Mike Penta will host a blood drive at his empty gym in Waterford on Thursday.
“I like to do things for people with nothing in return. I don’t want anything in return. I never do. I feel like as a person everybody should want to help one another, that’s just my morals.”
Fully recovered COVID-19 patients are also urged to donate their blood plasma to help treat people with the virus.
Call 1-800-Red-Cross to make an appointment. Scheduled blood drives can be found online and on the Red Cross Blood Donor smartphone app.
Read the latest on WSHU’s coronavirus coverage here.
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