Mississippi Blood Services is asking for donors to give blood at one of two drives in the Golden Triangle over the next two days.
The first will be held in the Walmart parking lot in Columbus today from noon to 4:30 p.m., said MBS Public Relations Specialist Susan Ates. The second will be held at OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville on Friday from 1-6 p.m.
Ates said MBS has enough blood currently to stock its hospitals, but the organization — and the hospitals it serves — have come to rely on annual drives at schools and universities. With the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus causing school closures across the country, Ates said, MBS has lost access to donors doctors can typically rely on.
“This has affected us, but we are considered an essential task,” Ates said. “We encourage people to come out. We’re taking all the precautions outlined by the (Food and Drug Administration) and the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).”
Those precautions include limiting the number of people in a donor coach to 10 at a time, including staff, and keeping six feet between people whenever possible, she said.
She added MBS staff have always had policies like one-use needles and wiping down beds between each donor, but staff are putting even more emphasis on those routine safety and sanitation measures right now.
“The virus itself, people suffering from it don’t need blood, but that doesn’t mean that everything else going around us has stopped, and there are people out there that need blood every day,” she said. “… People still have cancers, people still get in accidents, people still have emergency surgeries, and those people depend on volunteer blood donors to make sure the blood is there for them when they need it.”
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle Marketing Director Megan Pratt agreed.
“Blood supply’s really critical,” she said.
Sandi Kilburn, manager of Baptist’s blood bank, said Baptist has a good supply of blood right now — between 55 and 60 units, whereas she normally has about 60 to 65. That said, she noted donations are down.
“Donors are down, obviously because of the epidemic,” she said.
Kilburn and Pratt both said the hospital is planning to hold its own blood drive among staff next week, but it won’t be open to the public because visitors at the hospital are limited during the epidemic. Still, Kilburn said she hopes that adds to Baptist’s supply.
“You always have to plan for the future long-term,” Kilburn said.
Likewise, OCH Public Information Officer Mary Kathryn Kight said OCH has a good supply of blood for now, but she still encouraged people to donate if they were comfortable.”
We would just encourage people to continue to donate blood while continuing to take precautions,” she said.
“As long as Mississippi Blood Services is … comfortable with continuing, we’re going to continue to host them in the blood mobile in front of the hospital,” she added.
Ates said a single accident could “wipe out” a hospital’s blood supply, which is why it’s critical for donations to keep coming.
For those planning to attend MBS drives, Ates stressed they have to be healthy and that they should not attend if they’re showing symptoms or have been tested for COVID-19 in the past 28 days.
She added would-be donors should call MBS at 888-902-5663 or check its website for more information on drives.
“The impact (of COVID-19) has been kind of scary on the cancellations,” she said. “But people have really responded. People in Mississippi have big hearts. … When we say, ‘Hey, folks, we really need blood,’ people come out.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
