MIAMI – When the coronavirus pandemic spread to South Florida in March, local blood drives suddenly came to a halt.
“It was very disconcerting to have that happen at a time when we were facing a potentially greater need,” said Susan Forbes, of OneBlood.
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak struck, only 3 to 10 percent of Americans who could donate blood would actually do so.
“We would have had a horrible situation unfold if we had not reacted immediately because the blood supply is constantly moving, every day it’s moving, so people who donate today, those collections will likely wind up at a hospital in two to three days,” Forbes said.
Not only is the supply constantly being put to use, blood can’t be stockpiled for long periods of time which means the need for donors never goes away.
“So when we saw thousands of blood drives cancelling before our eyes because businesses and schools were closing, that was a call for immediate action to take place,” Forbes said.
OneBlood immediately began calling past donors and got an overwhelming response.
“They answered the call very quickly and they boosted up that blood supply,” Forbes said.
Local 10’s own Kristi Krueger jumped in to donate when the crisis began and 8 weeks later was donating again, with an added benefit.
All blood donors are being checked for COVID-19 antibodies.
“Not only does the donor find out if they have the coronavirus antibody, but it will also help in having additional people who are holding the key to helping these patients recover with the antibodies found in their plasma,” Forbes said.
The process for donating has changed, it’s now by appointment only, which actually streamlines the process because there’s no waiting.
The new process is also providing important data for Florida’s governor and state health officials; information on how many people are testing positive and where they live with can help in the decision making about reopening society.
“This gives us a very good gauge to know how many people are coming in on any given day so we make sure we’re collecting enough to meet the demands by the hospital,” Forbes said.
While Kristi Krueger’s donation certainly benefited people in need, her antibody test came back ‘negative’, meaning she does not have an immunity against the virus.