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Your Blood is Gold

Help Us Address a Severe Blood Shortage Together with the Red Cross

Dear Reader,

While the coronavirus pandemic and its effects have grown here in the United States with it has come a critical situation for the blood supply.

The American Red Cross now faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Healthy individuals are needed now to donate to help patients counting on lifesaving blood.

Since the outset of the pandemic, over 4,500 blood drives have been cancelled in the United States. That has left the Red Cross behind by 150,000 critical blood donations.

The Red Cross supplies about 40 percent of blood to the U.S.. This shortage could impact patients who need surgery, victims of car accidents and other emergencies, or patients suffering from cancer. And some of these products last only days on the shelf, thus having a steady stream of volunteer donors is imperative.

We ask that you please help us address this shortage. Giving blood is one of the most important things you can do to ensure we don’t have another health care crisis on top of the coronavirus.

If you are healthy and eligible, please give blood:

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We are all searching for ways to give back, to do more for our communities, right now. This is one way that we can all have a truly positive impact -- literally saving lives.

Please join GoldSilver.com and our community of partners in tackling this issue head on. To someone out there, your blood is worth far more than its weight in gold.

Sincerely,
Alex Daley
President of GoldSilver.com
Proud board member of the American Red Cross of Northern New England

Please help address the emerging crisis in blood donations.

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The process is safe, and the Red Cross has taken additional steps to ensure the safety of all donors.

Common Questions

With "social distancing" is giving blood safe?

Donating blood is a safe procedure and the Red Cross is implementing additional precautions to ensure the health and safety of both donors and staff. These include:

  • Checking the temperature of staff and donors before entering a drive to make sure they are healthy.
  • Providing hand sanitizer for use before the drive, as well as throughout the donation process.
  • Spacing beds, where possible, to follow social distancing practices between blood donors.
  • Increasing enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment.

These measures have been implemented in addition to regular safety protocols to help prevent the spread of infections, such as, wearing gloves and changing gloves often, routinely wiping down donor-touched areas, using sterile collection sets for every donation, and preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub.

Are there other ways I can help besides giving blood?

Absolutely.

A) Help share this message.

Whether you are able to give or not, you can help us address this emergency situation by getting out your bullhorn. Post on social media. Call your friends and family. Do whatever you can to spread the word that this is needed.

Not sure where to start? Follow the Red Cross on Twitter and Facebook, then share their posts to your network. Or email a copy of this letter to your contacts.

B) Host a drive.

If you have the people and a facility, such as a company office that is still open, consider hosting a drive so more appointments are available.

Or, if you are already hosting a drive, please do whatever you can to keep it going.

C) Donate currency.

The Red Cross delivers on its mission with a veritable army of volunteers. More than 95% of its services come from volunteer hours. However, medical supplies, blood mobiles, buildings, phlebotomists and more all cost money.

If you wish to support their mission, please give directly to the American Red Cross or your local chapter.

To my fellow colleagues in the gold industry, in ecommerce in general, and anyone whose website can reach people like ours does, I encourage you to please follow suit and post this letter or one of your own on your site and link to it prominently. Email your followers, post to your social media, and help mobilize your audience to save lives.

I tried to make an appointment to donate blood, but there are no blood drives near me?/I showed up to give but there was a long wait/no appointments available? The Red Cross is adding appointment slots at donation centers and expanding capacity at many community blood drives across the country over the next few weeks to ensure ample opportunities for donors to give.

Unfortunately, as drives are canceled during this outbreak there may be fewer locations where individuals can give. Workplaces, college campuses and schools are canceling their blood drives as these locations temporarily close and more people are being told to work remotely and practice social distancing.

So, check back often for more appointments and don’t hesitate to schedule one out a few weeks as consistency of supply is as important as the immediate crunch.