Sonoma County blood drive amid pandemic brings in dozens

Nearly 80 people showed up to a Santa Rosa blood drive Friday that was organized by two Sonoma County lawmakers after blood banks reported a shortage in donations during the coronavirus pandemic.

After more than half of the blood drives across the Bay Area were canceled this month because of the outbreak, state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, teamed up with the nonprofit Vitalant to organize Friday’s blood drive at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Appointments for the drive booked up within minutes of being announced, prompting organizers to plan a second drive for Tuesday at the fairgrounds, which also booked up quickly.

Organizers had to limit the number of appointments they could create for Friday’s drive to adhere to social distancing guidelines, but during the day, if space allowed, they accepted some people without appointments to walk in and donate blood.

In all, 79 people donated blood, which equates to 96 units of blood, according to Andrea Casson, donor recruitment manager for Vitalant.

“The drive was very successful,” Casson said.

Santa Rosa resident Eliot Cirivello learned about the drive after receiving an email from McGuire promoting the initiative. It was Cirivello’s first time donating blood, and he was nervous, but he felt that he should do his part to contribute.

“I wanted to donate and do something helpful,” he said. “I was really encouraged to see how many people were here.”

Cirivello worried that even though hospitals need blood now just as they do during other national crises, such as natural disasters, not as many people in the state have been donating as they have for past emergencies.

Forty-five blood drives in the Bay Area slated for March were canceled, which equates to about 1,233 units of blood Vitalant was unable to collect.

Blood donation is considered an essential service, so Vitalant’s centers across the Bay Area are still operating. But centers are limited to the number of appointments they can make each day because they space out clients to avoid spreading the coronavirus, which means that the centers can’t be at full capacity, Casson said. She said these community drives help create more opportunities for people to donate blood.

Santa Rosa resident Thea Daniels also donated blood at the fairgrounds Friday. At a time of so much uncertainty, Daniels said she wanted to do something important for the community.

“Everything right now makes you feel powerless,” Daniels said. “So this was something I could be in charge of, and it does a lot of good.”

The second community drive at the fairgrounds will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. Organizers are looking to add more appointment slots because of the high demand, Casson said.

She emphasized, though, that blood is perishable and needed regularly, so donors will be needed on a continuous basis.

“The need for blood is ongoing,” Casson said. “Don’t be discouraged if you can’t donate blood today because we will need you in the weeks and months to come.”

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.