In good health and want to get out of the house?
Blood Bank of Delmarva is extending open hours at its donor centers and urging healthy donors to make appointments to help maintain the region’s blood supply at a critical time.
“Around 40 percent of our incoming blood supply was interrupted when schools, businesses and religious institutions closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. In response, we’ve increased capacity at our donor centers by extending hours and opening for extra days each week,” said Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., CEO of Blood Bank of Delmarva. “These modifications will provide controlled, safe environments for healthy donors. By quickly implementing this sustainable long-term solution we have worked to prevent our blood supply from dropping to dangerously low levels.”
Blood is perishable and the supply must be continually replenished. BBD operates donor centers in Chadds Ford, Newark Dover, and Salisbury, Md. Donors can schedule appointments by calling 1-888-825-6638 or visiting www.delmarvablood.org/coronavirus.
Blood collection sites are disinfected frequently, and we are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19 as per CDC recommendations. BBD staff are also practicing health self-assessments prior to presenting at work. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms, a release stated.
In order to protect the blood bank’s staff, healthy blood donors and our community blood supply, people must avoid donor centers if they are experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing), have had close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 in the last 14 days, or have been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 until 28 days after their illness has resolved. BBD does NOT test for coronavirus
