As Pandemic Destroys Traditional Blood Drive Model, 40% of Blood Supply is Threatened
Start of school year usually boosts donations, but offers no relief amid COVID-19.
Blood Bank of Delmarva encourages blood donors to schedule appointments at donor centers
CHRISTIANA, Del. — Blood Bank of Delmarva is calling on the community to make appointments to visit donor centers as COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the process of donating blood. Before COVID-19, mobile blood drives hosted by high schools, colleges, businesses and other organizations made up about 40% of the region’s incoming blood supply, but the number of blood drives has dropped by two-thirds this year due to the pandemic.
The upcoming school year presents new and
unprecedented challenges. Blood donations are typically lower during the summer
and the return to school usually helps make up the difference and stabilize the
blood supply. In the past, school and college drives have resulted in 8,000
blood donations during each school year.
“The pandemic is forcing us to rethink the entire landscape, which means encouraging donors to take the extra step of making an appointment and traveling to a donor center. The loss of young donors is a particular challenge because our future blood supply is dependent on these first-time donors becoming lifetime donors,” said Andrea H. Cefarelli, Senior Executive Director of Recruitment & Marketing for Blood Bank of Delmarva. “We’ve always relied on the fall to provide a boost in blood donations from high school and college students hosting drives and this year we know this relief will not be coming.”
BBD began hosting a limited number of drives again this
summer, however they are far from the number of drives per month needed to
support area hospitals. BBD is encouraging eligible donors of all ages to adapt
to this new normal by making appointments to visit one of its 4 donors centers,
which have expanded capacity and hours of operation in order to safely
accommodate more donors.
In anticipation of lost high school and college blood
drives, BBD is also asking student leaders and organizations to donate as
groups in our donor centers. Those interested in bringing groups in are asked
to please email Director of Donor Recruitment Marie Forrestal at mforrestal@nybc.org. Scholarships will be
awarded to students who demonstrate a propensity for bringing in donors.
Blood from volunteer donors is needed every two
seconds to help meet the daily transfusion needs of cancer and surgery
patients, accident and burn victims, newborns and mothers delivering babies,
AIDS and sickle cell anemia patients, and many more.
For information on the extra precautions being taken to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19, visit?here.
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Photo Caption: Drexel University student (and Appoquinimink High School grad) Shane Higgins donates blood for the first time.
About Blood Bank of Delmarva: Blood Bank of Delmarva is a not-for-pro?t 501(c)(3) community blood bank with a simple mission: saving lives. The Blood Bank of Delmarva achieves its mission every day by providing safe blood and blood products to all 19 hospitals in Delmarva and relies on over 80,000 volunteer blood donors each year to ensure patients’ needs are met. The Blood Bank of Delmarva distributes over 130,000 blood products annually and operates four donor centers. Each year, the Blood Bank of Delmarva normally hosts over 600 blood drives. These blood drives would not be possible without the commitment of community organizations that volunteer to serve as sponsors or coordinators, which provides opportunities for blood donors to give blood and help patients in need. BBD is a New York Blood Center Enterprises affiliate and a member of AABB and ABC. For more information, please visit delmarvablood.org or follow us at facebook.com/delmarvabloodbank.
