The recent measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including Governor J.B. Pritzker’s “Stay at Home” order, is causing a decline in blood donations.
Decline in Blood Donations
Blood centers nationwide are being affected as many schools, workplaces, churches, and more are cancelling their blood drives.
One local spot seeing this shortage is Versiti Blood Center.
“We’ve been able to get some blood drives continue to be scheduled. So the current situation, while it is very serious, we are managing it right now,” said Versiti’s associate medical director Kevin Ha. “But as everything progresses it will definitely become much more critical to continue to have donors to come in and donate blood.”
Doctor Ha said over the past week, 90 blood drives have been cancelled in Illinois. On average, each drive brings in 15 to 25 donors.
Safe to Donate
The doctor assures potential donors that if you’re feeling healthy it, is safe to donate.
“We’re honoring social distancing by positioning chairs at least six feet apart,” said Ha. “Additionally we’re increasing the frequency of cleaning, we’re recommending that as a donor comes in for the screening process, we ask the donor to wash their hands.”
If you would like to donate, Versiti has a center in Naperville.
Park District Blood Drive
You can also stop by the Naperville Park District’s Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center to participate in one of the following blood drives:
- March 26, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- March 28, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- April 4, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- April 11, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
The park district has partnered with Versiti for these blood drives and details on how to make an appointment can be found here.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
