Nebraska Community Blood Bank Issues Urgent Call for Healthy Donors

As regions begin to reopen and hospitals resume elective surgeries, Nebraska Community Blood Bank (NCBB) is issuing an urgent call for healthy blood and platelet donors. The need for blood is increasing as hospitals re-start elective surgeries, but the blood supply is dangerously low. In order to maintain a safe blood supply, a seven-day inventory of all blood types must be continually replenished. Right now, reserves are far below that minimum. Mobile blood drives hosted by schools, organizations, and businesses make up more than 50% of the region’s incoming blood supply. Due to COVID-19, drives have been cancelled during March, April, and early May, which is a significant threat to the blood supply. NCBB will begin holding a limited number of mobile blood drives this month, but the capacity will not be sufficient to meet the needs of area hospitals. Donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment at one of NCBB’s 4 donor centers.

“The blood supply is a critical part of our healthcare system. It is imperative for healthy individuals to come in and donate blood so that it’s available to those in need,” said Dr. Nancy Van Buren, MD, Associate Medical Director of NCBB. “At this unprecedented time, this is one thing you can do to help someone who desperately needs it. We have extended hours at our donor centers and a donor self-
screening policy in place for COVID-19, and we’re requiring donors to schedule an appointment to visit one of these controlled, safe environments.”

Donating blood is safe and it takes an hour or less from start to finish. Blood collection sites are disinfected frequently, and we are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. NCBB staff are also practicing health self-assessments prior to starting work. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection, or flu-like symptoms. In order to protect our 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 been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 until 14 days after their illness has resolved. NCBB does NOT test for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently revised several guidelines regarding donor eligibility, including shortening the deferral period for men who have sex with men from twelve months to three. As NCBB has advocated for these changes for decades, it welcomes this news and is working to implement these changes as quickly as possible. More information is available here.

Donors can schedule appointments by calling 877-486-9414 or visiting NCBB.ORG.