Through March 17, nearly 4,000 Red Cross blood drives have been canceled across the country due to COVID-19, resulting in more than 100,000 fewer blood donations. That is why the Fort Knox Red Cross is hosting blood drives from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 7 and 21 at the Hansen Center (located on Spearhead Division Avenue on post) .
Please make an appointment for either day by visiting redcrossblood.org and searching for Fort Knox (40121).
If you have any questions or having trouble making an appointment on the website, please call the Fort Knox Red Cross at 502-624-2163 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Red Cross is committed to blood drive safety. We know that people want to help, but they may be hesitant to visit a blood drive during this time. We want to assure the public that blood donation is a safe process, and we have put additional precautions in place at our blood drives and donation centers to protect all who come out.
The Red Cross has implemented new measures to ensure blood drives and donation centers are even safer for our donors and staff, including:
* 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.
* Disinfecting of surfaces and equipment.
At each blood drive and donation center, Red Cross employees already follow thorough safety protocols to help prevent the spread of any type of infection, including:
* Wearing gloves and changing gloves with each donor.
* Routinely wiping down donor-touched areas.
* Using sterile collection sets for every donation.
* Preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub.
There is no data or evidence that this coronavirus can be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion transmission for any respiratory virus including this coronavirus worldwide.