Donating blood products is essential to community health and the need for blood products is constant. As part of our nation’s critical infrastructure, healthy individuals can still donate in areas that have issued shelter in place declarations. The Red Cross follows the highest standards of safety and infection control, and volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need.
The American Red Cross is so grateful to all our partners that continue to stand with us through the evolution of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hundreds of thousands of donors and blood drive hosts have responded to the call to support the lifesaving mission and we can't thank you enough!
We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information as you continue to organize your upcoming blood drive. At each blood drive, we follow extensive safety protocols and, over the past month, we have announced additional safety measures that were implemented. We wanted to share the latest precautions that you may notice at your upcoming blood drive:
- Basic Face Masks at Blood Drives. In accordance with updated CDC guidelines, donors will be asked to wear face masks at blood drives or donation centers. We encourage donors to wear their own face mask/covering that covers both their nose and mouth in accordance with CDC guidelines. If a donor does not have a mask, the Red Cross will provide one. If a donor does not want to wear a mask, we ask they postpone their donation for a later date. We ask for your support in helping to communicate this information to your donors for your upcoming blood drive.
- Scheduled Appointments. To help manage donor flow and social distancing at blood drives, appointments are highly encouraged. Please note, at most drives, walk-ins will not be accepted.
- No Guests at Blood Drives. Inform your donors that guests will not be able to attend your blood drive (e.g. babies, children or teens, unless teen is donating blood).
- Refreshment Items at Canteen. Any provided refreshment items must be pre-packaged only (e.g. no pizza, open box donuts, homemade items).
Visit Red Cross' website for more information or to schedule an appointment.
