Critical need for blood donations remains as demand for COVID-19 convalescent plasma goes down
OneBlood still testing donations for COVID-19 antibodies but evaluating for how much longer
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Critical need for blood donations remains as demand for COVID-19 convalescent plasma goes down
ORLANDO, Fla. – OneBlood is still testing every blood donation for COVID-19 antibodies to use for convalescent plasma treatment, but spokesperson Susan Forbes said with cases and hospitalizations going down, they are exceeding demand for convalescent plasma.
“It’s not a test that we will be doing indefinitely. We are evaluating how much longer we will be providing that,” said Forbes.
The challenge of finding a match
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Blood donor center in dire need of donors
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Photo: Nyugen Hiep
Now OneBlood says it also has a critical need for blood.
WMFE spoke with OneBlood Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Relations Susan Forbes about why it’s safe to donate blood and the blood types they need most.
Read the full interview below.
Danielle: You know, last month the Red Cross said it saw its lowest donor turnout since the pandemic started. What’s donor turnout been like here in Central Florida number-wise?
Susan: You know, we’ve, we have great donors, and we’re very blessed at OneBlood to have such a great donor base. People are starting to move around again, the vaccine is available, more people are vaccinated, more people are traveling. And blood donation may not be top of mind with them right now. And we want to keep it at the forefront and let them know that it’s still needed.