-BY MATT PIKE
ST JOSEPH POST
The American Red Cross is seeking more blood donations heading into the holidays.
External Communications Manager for the Red Cross Blood Service, Joe Zydlo, says that early on in the COVID-19 pandemic it was a struggle to get donations.
"I use the comparison of a see saw," Zydlo explains. " You know we were down, really stuck in the mud, couldn't get up, didn't have someone on the other end to help boost us up."
Zydlo adds though, "And then we were able to stabilize it, people came out and they donated and we got a lot of support from communities."
Zydlo says a big part of the "see saw" going back up was also thanks to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson reminding people to get out and donate blood.
The American Red Cross is also looking for ways to help solve the coronavirus pandemic with blood donations.
Zydlo says that they began testing for coronavirus antibodies in June.
"We started testing for COVID-19 antibodies on June 15th, that was just one particular test of the blood donations," Zydlo says. "Now we know that sometimes people would get a false positive test out of that, so we incorporated the second test."
The second test allows the Red Cross to streamline the donating process, allowing donors to only have to come in once.
Prior to the second test, a person may have to come in a second time to donate plasma after finding out they had the COVID antibodies.
Zydlo says testing blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies also got more people to come donate.
"We started to test all of our blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies and we got a huge push from people because some were curious,” Zydlo says, stating donors wanted to know if they were exposed and didn't even know it or if they were asymptomatic and never got tested.
Zydlo says the testing "gave people a peace of mind."
The Red Cross runs two tests on each blood donation in an attempt to streamline the process.
If both tests come back positive for coronavirus antibodies, they are then sent off to local hospitals to help hospitalized COVID-19 patients