UMC, Vitalant host blood drive to address donation decline
To help address a significant decline in blood donations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UMC has partnered with Vitalant to host a blood drive on Wednesday.
The TeamUMC Blood Drive will take place outside of UMC’s main entrance at 1800 W. Charleston Blvd. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. UMC encourages community members to donate on a walk-in basis.
Due to widespread business and school closures, approximately 14,000 Vitalant blood drives across the nation have been canceled since the onset of the pandemic, resulting in an estimated 364,000 uncollected blood donations.
Vitalant and Sonic will provide each donor with a voucher for a breakfast burrito.
Vitalant is screening for COVID-19 antibodies in donors, said UMC representative Scott Kerbs. Antibodies indicate that a person has had the disease. Every donor receives access to a private online donor profile and can typically access results within two weeks.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.
