Coronavirus has sapped the Triangle’s blood supply. Here’s one way you can help.
Staying home may be the best way to stem the spread of coronavirus, but hospitals and blood banks are hoping people will come out at least once next week for a big blood drive.
The day-long drive at PNC Arena aims to help counter the sharp drop in donations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Blood Connection, which collects donations in North and South Carolina, has received more than 9,000 fewer units than expected since March 1 because of canceled drives and fewer visitors to its donation centers, said spokeswoman Allie Van Dyke.
The Blood Connection supplies nearly all of the blood used at UNC Rex and WakeMed hospitals, and the three organizations are jointly planning the PNC Arena drive on Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The arena was chosen in part because it has plenty of parking and is large enough to allow donors and staff to keep a safe distance from each other.
Donors are asked to register in advance at https://bit.ly/3a3su4U or by calling 800-392-6551. They’ll be asked to wait in their cars until they get a call or text saying it’s their turn to donate, to avoid the need to wait with others in the arena.
“We know that in times of uncertainty, members of our community look for ways to support one another — to be the helpers,” Deb Laughery, WakeMed’s vice president of marketing and communications, said in a written statement. “This blood drive is critically important to our community.”
Hospitals are keeping a wary eye on the blood supply, since donations began dropping two weeks ago. Duke Health and UNC Health officials say they have not had to cancel any procedures because of a lack of blood, and neither has WakeMed’s main campus in Raleigh, said Dr. Chuck Harr, the chief medical officer.
Harr said that’s in part because hospitals have cut back on surgeries and procedures that are not time-sensitive, to free up supplies, staff and beds to combat the growing coronavirus outbreak. But there’s always a need for blood, particularly at a Level 1 trauma center such as WakeMed, he said.
“People still have car wrecks; they still have accidents; we’ll still have shootings and stabbings,” he said. “There’s just a lot of need across the community for blood.”
Both WakeMed and UNC Rex are also organizing internal blood drives for their employees.
Giving blood is safe, says FDA
The Food and Drug Administration says despite the spread of coronavirus donating blood remains safe for both donors and recipients. The FDA says the potential transmission of COVID-19 through blood transfusions “is unknown at this time,” but adds, “respiratory viruses, in general, are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus.”
The FDA also says the steps agencies such as The American Red Cross and The Blood Connection take to screen people should prevent anyone with respiratory infections from donating. Both agencies prevent people from donating if they are sick.
The Red Cross also is now asking people to put off donating blood for 28 days if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or been in contact with someone with coronavirus or if they have visited one of four countries with COVID-19 outbreaks: Italy, South Korea, Iran and China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Both The Blood Connection and The Red Cross are still taking donations at their blood centers. And though unusually large, the PNC Arena blood drive is not the only one being organized in the Triangle. To find others or to get more information about donating blood, go to thebloodconnection.org or www.redcrossblood.org.
Give blood
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh
When: March 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Coronavirus has sapped the Triangle’s blood supply. Here’s one way you can help.."
