Coronavirus and Blood Donation

Fighting Coronavirus and Keeping Our Community Safe

The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center continues to follow reports from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health agencies on coronavirus and the illness called COVID-19, and are responding with steps needed to protect the health of donors, staff and the communities we serve.

Give Blood

We are urgently asking donors to continue to donate blood if they are well and healthy. A blood shortage in South Texas would pose a serious health risk to many patients who can’t wait for coronavirus to go away. Your lifesaving donation helps ensure that lifesaving blood is available for cancer patients, car accident victims, moms delivering newborns and many other patients in need.

Blood donations continue to be considered an “essential city function,” as designated by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

If you are a recovered COVID-19 patient, learn how you can help other patients fight severe forms of the virus. Click here.

Keep Healthy

Your health should always be a priority, not just for your own well being, but also because it allows you to continue to save lives through blood donation. Here are a few tips to help you stay healthy.

Safety and Preparedness Tips

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Or cough/sneeze into your elbow.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects (computers, phones, etc.) and surfaces (countertops, desks, dining tables, etc.) using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Know the Symptoms

Continue to monitor your health and seek medical attention if you display any of the CDC says symptoms of COVID-19 infection or the flu. If you feel any of these symptoms, you should stay home and call your healthcare provider.

Symptoms of COVID-19:

Fever, cough and shortness of breath
Symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days after exposure.

How STBTC is Keeping the Community Safe

Below you will also find safety protocols we’ve implemented to keep you safe before, during and after the donation process.

Staff

All employees are screened for temperature and COVID-19 symptoms each day before they are allowed to work. If an employee becomes ill, they must stay home until 24 hours after a fever has resolved.
STBTC staff have been instructed to avoid travel to locations where there are known outbreaks of COVID-19, and to self-quarantine if they have visited a country the CDC has identified as a site of a significant outbreak.
A staff supervisor is identified at every location who is dedicated solely to monitoring social distancing.
Staff members change gloves and sanitize surfaces in the screening area between donors as well as wear masks as recommended by the CDC.
In addition all STBTC bloodmobiles staff will use personal protective equipment, including face masks.

The Donation Process

Donors receive a mandatory temperature check at check-in.
Donors are required to wear masks. If a donor doesn’t have a mask at check-in, one will be offered.
Additional hand sanitation stations are posted at check-in and throughout the donation process.
The number of donors allowed in donation locations, waiting areas and on bloodmobiles at any given time is limited to avoid crowding and follow social distancing guidelines.
Reception and waiting areas, as well as donor beds at donor rooms and drives are set up to maintain at least six feet between donors and staff and are sanitized after use.
In addition to the usual donor history questionnaire and mini-physical, potential donors are asked questions concerning recent travel to areas affected by COVID-19.
Individuals are also asked to self-defer and not donate blood for 28 days if they have:
- cared for, lived with, or otherwise had close contact with individuals diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.
- been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.
- This is being done as a cautionary measure since respiratory viruses are not known to be transmitted by blood donation or transfusion.
Each donation collection kit is new, single use and unopened until the time of use.
All our blood drives and donor rooms also have information sheets about steps to take to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Additional information

To ensure you’re up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak, here is additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas Department of State Health Services and San Antonio Metro Health.