Oroville YMCA holds blood donation and COVID anti-body testing
OROVILLE, Calif. — The YMCA in Oroville hosted a community blood drive with Vitalant where people could not only donate blood but also check for COVID-19 antibodies.
A charge nurse for Vitalant says they plan on testing donors for the anti-bodies for the foreseeable future.
But whether the antibodies are present or not, the blood is still useful. Blood donations have decreased during the pandemic while hospitals have increased surgeries and other procedures. One pint of blood helps around three people.
Program Director for YMCA in Oroville, Sarah Pierce believes being able to check for anti-bodies is a motivator for some people to donate blood.
"Knowing whether or not you've had the COVID antibodies or you have the COVID antibodies gives you a little bit of security to know whether or not you're ready to go back to work, go back to school, and start you know, life as it was before".
Depending on how busy they are Vitalant says it'll take two days to two weeks to receive your anti-body results.
YMCA has been providing services for the community throughout the pandemic.
"We're happy to provide any type of COVID relief that we can. We've already been doing the school-aged care, we've been doing services for seniors, and now we have the opportunity to save lives by providing blood".
The blood drive took place at the Oroville Convention Center, where they plan on hosting more programs for the community once construction is completed.
"We're looking forward to offering future blood drives. We're going to be offering more group sports, group fitness, youth sports, all sorts of fun activities and events in the Oroville Convention Center. As California opens June 15 we're looking forward to our grand opening for June 19th".
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