When patients bled and ran to the emergency room before COVID-19, the doctor’s only fear was to save a life, not if they had enough important blood to do so.
The consequences of COVID-19 for staying at home have eliminated the practical opportunity to make a stop at a blood donation in school parking lots.
“It’s harder for other people to donate blood,” said Andrea Cefarelli, senior executive director of New Jersey Blood Services.”It’s much less difficult to cross campus or get out of the chair if a blood donation takes place in your company or business.”
The recent lack of blood donations has caused blood shortages and can make the difference between the lives and deaths of others who want blood for surgeries, cancer or blood disorders.
New Jersey Blood Services urges others to donate blood to combat shortages at their long-term donor centers and upcoming blood donation campaigns.
Although the challenge is not as visual as the closure of small businesses, for Cefarelli, the lives of other people who want important blood are in the hands of donors.
“Before COVID-19, 75% of our blood came from network-parked blood donation campaigns in places of worship, schools, universities, chimney stations,” he said.”Currently, we take out less than a third of blood donation campaigns in general..”
While many other people are involved in the transmission of COVID-19, donating blood is provided that precautions are taken.
All blood donations must have scheduled appointments where the donor has a 15-minute window to donate, masks are required, temperatures will be taken on site and the donor must be free of COVID-19 for at least 14 days.
There are two types of blood donations that are strongly recommended through New Jersey Blood Services: mobile donations of red blood (the norm) and convalescent plasma for those who have defeated COVID-19 and need others who have lately suffer from the virus.
Convalescent plasma: Lakewood citizens roll up their arms to fight plasma coronavirus
This plasma is used to combat potentially fatal cases of COVID-19.Anyone who wants a recovering plasma donor should go through the New York Blood Center, one of the largest suppliers of convalescent plasma in the United States.
“We have collected and distributed more than 47,000 games of this specialized convalescent plasma since the beginning of the pandemic,” Cafarelli said of the New York Blood Center.
Potential plasma donors will need to complete a form in which they will need to provide documentation proving what they have had and defeated the virus.
They will be assigned a place to make the special donation through the New York Blood Center.Convalescence plasma can be extracted from a red blood cell donation or by automation.
“We have collected and distributed more than 47,000 games of this specialized convalescence plasma since the start of the pandemic,” Cafarelli said.
Donors can make an appointment at a donation or blood center in www.nybc.org/.
Len La Rocca is an intern at Asbury Park Press. Contact him at [email protected]