Blood centers are open and their inventory levels down an estimated 30% to 40% compared with the same time last year. Here’s how to help.
By Michelle Ma March 20, 2020 6:21 pm ET In trying times, the best salve is often helping others. As the spread of Covid-19 continues to change our lives, you might be wondering what you can do for your loved ones, your community and others affected by the pandemic. We’ll publish more ways to help in the days ahead.
Roughly 12,000 blood drives have been canceled across the country from March through July, as businesses, schools and other collection sites have closed due to coronavirus concerns. Industry estimates project these cancellations will result in 335,000 fewer blood units. Blood centers are taking extra precautions to safeguard against spreading infection, including increasing the spacing between beds and taking the temperatures of donors before they enter the blood drive. Some sites are asking donors to stay in their cars until they are ready to see them, said Mr. Hrouda.
The Food and Drug Administration also issued a statement on March 11 that there have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus, and that respiratory viruses aren’t known to be transmitted by blood transfusion. Dr. James Crowe, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center in Nashville, Tenn., said his lab has collected about 10 blood samples, including repeat samples from the same patient. At the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’s Vaccine Research Center, two samples have been collected, according to Dr. Julie Ledgerwood, the center’s deputy director.
The NIAID is focusing on studying blood samples from recovered patients who were healthy to begin with, as they are more likely to have a good immune response, according to Dr. Ledgerwood. They should also be about two to eight weeks out of the infection.
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