Because of COVID-19 related safety measures, Vitalant had to cancel hundreds of blood drives since early March– resulting in more than 9,000 uncollected blood donations, just in South Dakota, North Dakota and western Minnesota.
Blood drives are starting to be held again– including Monday and Tuesday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pierre. Vitalant senior donor recruiter Abbie Arneson says surgeries and other medical procedures are resuming as stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, causing a critical need to replenish the blood supply.
Arneson says they’ve adjusted the blood donation process to ensure maximum safety.
She says once inside, social distancing recommendations are followed.
The blood drives in Pierre next week are Monday from noon-6pm and Tuesday from 8am-12:15pm at Trinity Episcopal Church. Arneson says walk-in donors are welcome, but she encourages people to schedule an appointment at vitalant.org.
Arneson says all blood types are critically needed right now, especially for platelets, type O, A-negative and B-negative red blood cells. In the Dakotas and western Minnesota, Vitalant must collect a minimum of 250 blood donations each day to meet patients’ transfusion needs.
