PW Perspective had a chance to speak with Erwin Stierle Jr. Executive Director of the American Red Cross for Loudoun and Prince William County. He told us about The Red Cross’ new initiative to help donors. They will be testing all donors’ blood for COVID-19 antibodies. In a press release on June 15, 2020 The Red Cross explained in more detail. A small sample is gathered at the time of donation and sent to a lab for testing. Donors will receive their blood results within 7-10 days through the Red Cross Blood Donor App or on the donor portal. The antibody tests have been approved by the FDA, but they stress that a positive antibody test result does NOT confirm infection or immunity. The Red Cross plans to continue their COVID-19 blood testing for the next few months.

He explained how The Red Cross initially saw a decrease in donations at the start of the pandemic.  “Locally, even nationally, once the pandemic hit, our blood drives essentially were cancelled all across the country. We were urgently looking for organizations to get people to come back in…We did have to adjust our blood drives…” In the face of the pandemic, they have continued their efforts to fulfill the need for blood donations.

The Red Cross, for the health and safety of their staff and donors, have implemented policies to ensure donation centers are safe. For example:

• The will be checking staff and donor temperatures before entering a donation center/drive
• providing hand sanitizer
• following social distancing between entry, donation, and refreshment area

Donors can download the Red Cross Blood Donor app, where donors can track their donation’s process, lab results, make appointments, sign in, receive alerts, etc.

To see if you are eligible to donate blood, click here. The find a blood donation center near you and to schedule an appointment, click here. To read more about their response to COVID-19 and blood donation policy, click here.