Red Cross, EmergeOrtho to host needed blood drive in Wilmington

May 5, 2020

Hannah Patrick,

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The American Red cCoss is still in need of blood as hospitals are still delivering babies and people are still in need of emergency surgeries and many other scenarios and you can help this week.

The US Surgeon General, the CDC, and Governor Cooper have all encouraged people to continue to donate blood through this crisis.

James Jarvis with the American Red Cross and Steve Debiasi with EmergeOrtho spoke with WWAY over FaceTime about an upcoming drive in Wilmington Friday.

When the Coronavirus pandemic first started, the American Red Cross was experiencing a serious shortage of blood donations and drives. James Jarvis at the Cape Fear Chapter of the American Red Cross said people have started to donate again and that has helped, but they still need more.

The blood donation process is safe and is fully compliant with the CDC’s social distancing guidelines. Blood collections are also considered essential healthcare and public health operations according to the Governor’s Stay At Home Executive Order.

Emerge Orthopedics on Shipyard Blvd. is hosting a large blood drive on Friday, May 8th. You cannot walk-in to give blood. You must schedule an appointment. You can do that by calling or making an appointment online. The number is 1-800 RED CROSS.
Click here to find out more on how to schedule an appointment.

Each Red Cross blood drive and donation center follows the highest standards of safety and infection control. To ensure the health of employees, volunteers and staff, precautions include:

Checking temperatures of staff and donors before entering a drive to make sure they are healthy.
Routinely disinfecting surfaces, equipment and donor-touched areas.
Following social distancing between donors including entry, donation and refreshment areas.
Providing hand sanitizer for use before the drive, as well as throughout the donation process.
Wearing gloves, and changing gloves often.
Increased Donor Educational Materials on COVID‐19.
Using sterile collection sets and an aseptic scrub for every donation.