Mar 27, 2020
There is no substitute for blood. It is essential for life. When you roll up your sleeve to donate, you make an immeasurable difference. Joining us for this week's House Call is Kristen Lane, with Vitalant, which is conducting a blood drive this Wednesday on the first floor of the Mountaineer Medical Building on the United Hospital Center Campus.
1. Is it safe to donate blood during the pandemic?
Yes. Donating blood is safe. Vitalant, which supplies blood products to UHC, strictly adheres to all FDA-regulated blood donation processes. The coronavirus does not pose any known risk to blood donors during the donation process. Our staff has updated our safety and disinfection protocols for blood drives.
- To enable our donor care staff to practice social distancing guidelines, no more than 10 people can in the donation room at any one time, including staff.
- All donors need to make an appointment for their blood drive. Walk-ins cannot be accepted. This is so we can provide donors with the best donation experience possible.
- We are setting up larger wait areas with adequate distance between donors
- Everyone's' temperature will be taken as they enter our drives
- We have removed the communal snack baskets from the refreshment areas
- Vitalant is sanitizing cots and donor lounges between each donor as well as all high-touch areas
- The donor care staff wear protective wear gloves for every procedure, and gloves are changed before every donor.
- All supplies are single use.
Our highest priority is maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply for patients.
2. Governor Jim Justice has issued “Stay at Home” orders for the state of West Virginia. This order bars people from leaving their homes, except for essential functions. How can we go to a blood drive?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Surgeon General have all specifically identified blood donation as an essential and integral component of the emergency support function. Blood collection sites are a ‘first response’ action to this outbreak, versus a gathering that needs to be avoided. Social distancing guidance states that it’s okay for people to leave home for necessities like groceries, or a doctor’s visit, or the pharmacy. Donating blood is a necessity.
3. Hospitals are cancelling surgeries, so why is blood needed?
There are many more needs for blood in addition to surgeries. For example, every day -- even during the pandemic -- there is trauma. Car accidents and other injuries can entail the need for blood. Patients undergoing cancer treatment generally require platelet transfusions. And there are a high number of patients who need regular, ongoing blood transfusions just to survive. If you’re healthy, you’re needed now more than ever. We cannot let it get to the point where there’s no blood available for hospitals.
The best and most helpful practice is for people to become dedicated donors who give blood on a regular basis. This is a challenging concept to communicate because we don’t want to give donors the impression that their blood is not wanted or needed. It is indeed critically needed; just not all at once. If we experience big spike of people all trying to donate at the same time, there is the risk having your precious blood becoming outdated and therefore unusable. Blood components can't be stockpiled; they have a limited shelf life: 45 days for red blood cells and only five days for platelets.
This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.
Please note, the information provided throughout this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and video, on or available through this website is for general information purposes only. If you are experiencing related symptoms, please visit your doctor or call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
