Red Cross at St. Clare's

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for your generous donations at the March 2020 Red Cross blood drive at St. Clare.  We collected 37 units!

The Red Cross truly appreciates your support of the community blood program as donors and volunteers.

This is a reminder that St. Clare is holding the next blood drive on Thursday, June 11, 2020 from 1:00 - 6:00 pm.

Yes, the time has been adjusted slightly.

Due to the critical need for blood, St. Clare Parish has generously agreed to hold an additional drive on Friday, May 29th, 1 pm - 6 pm.

If you are interested in donating, please either sign up online via the RedCross app, visit www.redcrossblood.org Sponsor Code: St.ClarePortland or contact me via email or cell.  I will gladly sign you up!

If you did a pre-signup but perhaps have forgotten the time of your appointment, need to change, or would like to cancel, please let me know.

The drive will practice the physical distancing required.  This means that the "waiting area" might be in your car, and while there will be a few chairs at the canteen, you are welcome to "grab and go" to your car.

Unfortunately, this means you may not have the social connection that makes the St. Clare drives what they are, but you will still be helping so many people!

We do ask that you bring your own mask, but if you do not have one, the Red Cross will provide a basic one.

Best regards,

Maria DaSilva

St. Clare Red Cross Coordinator

mariad8984@gmail.com

503-260-3633 (cell)

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Below is from the American Red Cross ( www.redcrossblood.org)

At each blood drive or donation center, Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols, including:·    

• Wearing gloves and changing them often
• Wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection
• Using sterile collection sets for every donation
• Preparing the arm for donation with aseptic scrub
• Conducting donor mini-physicals to ensure donors are healthy and well on day of donation 

We have also increased our vigilance concerning some of these safety protocols including:

• Enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment  
• Providing hand sanitizer for use before entering and throughout the donation appointment 
• Temperature checks before presenting donors enter the blood drive or donation center 
• Following social distancing practices between donors including donor beds, as well as waiting and refreshment areas
• During this time, blankets typically used by platelet, Power Red and AB Elite donors at Red Cross blood donation centers will be laundered after each use, which may limit the availability. Donors are encouraged to bring their own blankets, but electric blankets and heating pads are not permitted.
• Staff wearing basic face masks
• For the safety of our donor community and in accordance with CDC guidelines, all donors are required to wear a face covering or mask. Please bring a face covering or mask to your donation. If you do not have one, a mask will be provided to you.

To ensure our staff are healthy each day, we have implemented standard staff health assessments prior to all blood drives.
Finally, only eligible and healthy people are allowed to give blood.