Yes, It's Safe Right Now to Donate Blood — Here's Why

These precautions are being taken because of the pandemic.

Yes, It's Safe Right Now to Donate Blood — Here's Why

Someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. Think: surgeries, car accidents, serious injuries, chronic illness and cancer treatments. And because blood donations dropped to record-low levels during the pandemic, the need for blood is more urgent than ever.

To help, Dr. Oz is leading the #JustMyType Challenge to get as many people as possible to a blood drive and make a life-saving donation.

However, one of the reasons blood donations dropped during the pandemic is because public gatherings were canceled for much of 2020 and 2021. And when they opened back up, many people wondered if it was safe or healthy to have the procedure done.

Well, blood centers want you to know: It's safe! You can and should donate blood if you are able, they say. Here are some of the precautions being taken to keep you, staff, and blood donation recipients healthy.

Click the links below to find blood drives in your area through America's Blood Centers and the Red Cross.

America's Blood Centers

Red Cross

Health Requirements

Blood centers require staff to complete health assessments before each blood drive.

Staff will take your temperature and ask you some questions to make sure you are healthy and feeling well the day of your donation. However, even if you feel healthy, blood centers recommend people postpone their donation appointment if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, receive a positive test or have had COVID symptoms..

When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine, you are able to donate blood if you received the shot from AstraZeneca, Janssen/J&J, Moderna, Novavax, or Pfizer — and you are able to tell staff which one you received. If you do not know, or you received a live attenuated COVID-19 vaccine, you must wait two weeks from your vaccination.

This all is in addition to the typical eligibility requirements for donating blood.

Personal Safety

  • Staff wears gloves and changes them often.
  • Sterile collection sets are used for each donor.
  • The donor's arm is prepared with antiseptic.
  • Hand sanitizer is offered throughout the donor's appointment.
  • Social distancing is practiced, including between donor beds and in the waiting and refreshment areas.
  • Face masks are required for all donors and staff.

Cleaning & Disinfecting

  • Surfaces that donors touch are wiped down after every collection.
  • Surfaces and equipment are disinfected frequently.
  • Blankets used during donations (platelet, plasma and red cell) are washed after each use. Donors are encouraged to bring their own as well.

You know how important — and rewarding — it is to give blood. At this point in the pandemic, know that you can make your donation safely, with everyone's health in mind. Join Dr. Oz and help end this critical blood shortage.

Here's Dr. Oz's Mom's Regimen for Fighting Her Alzheimer's

Here are the tools she uses to help manage the progression of the disease.

Personal photos courtesy of Dr.Oz

When Dr. Oz found out in September 2019 that his mom, Suna, then 81, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he was gutted. He wondered how he missed the signs and what he could do next. Like so many caregivers, he had to recognize that his mom was not going to get better. But he also knew that he wasn't alone: There is an Alzheimer's diagnosis every 65 seconds.

Dr. Oz immediately contacted his friends and colleagues and crafted a treatment plan with two of the country's top experts in the field: Richard S. Isaacson, MD, a neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the founder of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard and the founder of the "Alzheimer's Genome Project," who co-discovered the first Alzheimer's gene.

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