Local

Blood center in NE FL starting to see decline in donations due to coronavirus

Jacksonville FL — LifeSouth Community Blood Centers says they are starting to see a decline of blood donations due to concerns over the coronavirus. LifeSouth, which collects blood in Northeast Florida says they’ve seen a drop over the last couple of weeks. The Vice President of Medical Services at LifeSouth Dr. Chris Lough says the drop is due to a combination of people staying home and also the cancellation of blood drives over concerns about the virus.

“We want people to come in before we hit that, that disaster”. Dr. Lough says.

He says it is safe to go to or host a blood drive and there is no risk of contracting the virus since coronavirus is a respiratory disease and not a blood-borne disease.

Out of an abundance of caution, Dr. Lough says they are ramping up their cleaning protocols and they are educating staff on what to do to prevent the spread. He says the routine steps they take already, as a health service organization, are enough to prevent the spread of the virus.

LifeSouth has two donor centers in Northeast Florida one at 7840 Baymeadows Way and 800 Purdential Drive, inside Baptist Medical Center. Both locations are open Monday through Friday.

If you have any other questions you can visit Lifesouth.org.

mobile apps

Everything you love about wokv.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!