The American Red Cross in Los Angeles is reporting a critical need for all blood products as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. Pre-pandemic, blood drives hosted by community organizations, schools and businesses accounted for about 80 percent of blood donations. Restricted access to those locations during the pandemic has forced cancellations, making it difficult to ensure that the Red Cross obtains the 700 whole blood donations needed each day to support hospitals and trauma centers in Southern California.
L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, is supporting the Red Cross with a blood drive today. This is the fourth blood drive L.A. Care has hosted since the pandemic began, helping to ensure that every hospital patient gets the lifesaving blood they need.
All donors will get an anti-body test to determine if they previously had COVID-19. People who have antibodies may qualify to be future convalescent plasma donors, which could help treat patients who are actively fighting the virus.
The Red Cross staff will follow strict safety protocols, including holding the drive in a large conference room, to allow for proper social distancing.
Other Red Cross safety protocols include:
- Both volunteers and donors will wear masks at all times
- Wearing gloves and changing them often
- Wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection
- Using sterile collection sets for every donation
- Preparing the arm for donation with aseptic scrub
- Enhanced disinfecting of equipment
- Providing hand sanitizer for use before entering and throughout the donation appointment
- Temperature checks before donors enter the blood drive
The American Red Cross will be at:
L.A. Care Health Plan
1055 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, Room 100
Tuesday, October 27
9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Media welcome 10:00 am – Noon