TERRE HAUTE, Ind – The Red Cross has scheduled two blood drives here in the Wabash Valley. Many drives have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The Blood Mobile will be at the Clay County YMCA next week on Tuesday March 31st from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The following week on April 1st the Blood Mobile will be at the Vigo County YMCA in Fairbanks Park from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Theo Boots the Red Cross Executive Director of Southwest Indiana says that “We know that people want to help, but they may be hesitant to visit a blood drive during this time. We want to assure the public that blood donation is a safe process, and we have put additional precautions in place at our blood drives and donation centers to protect all who come out.
The Red Cross has implemented new measures to ensure blood drives and donation centers are even safer for our donors and staff, including:
*Checking the temperature 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.
*Spacing beds, where possible, to follow social distancing practices between blood donors.
*Increasing enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment.
At each blood drive and donation center, 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.
Routinely wiping down donor-touched areas.
Using sterile collection sets for every donation.
Preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub.
There is no data or evidence that this 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.