The spread of coronavirus is starting to have some consequences that we didn’t immediately see coming. People are dying from fake cures that are doing the rounds, experts are warning that we’ll see domestic violence rates rise as people are trapped in coronavirus quarantine, and now the Red Cross is asking for more blood donors as people cancel their blood donation appointments in droves.
As people are self quarantining, working from home, and being encouraged to practice social distancing as much as possible, the Red Cross are dealing with around 800 cancellations per day across the country.
Chief medical officer of Lifeblood, Joanne Pink, said that people are “changing their schedules during the current period of uncertainty.”
“We are unable to stockpile blood donations, unlike toilet paper. The need for blood doesn’t stop.”
The comments on any social media post asking for more blood donors reveal a pretty significant flaw in Australia’s blood donation laws: currently men who have had sex with another man in the last year aren’t allowed to give blood. You can find a lot of comments along the lines of “I would help out if I was less gay!” under almost all of these posts.
The law came into effect because historically gay men have had higher rares of HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. These days blood is screened for these conditions before it’s sent to hospitals and other places that use the blood, so it’s largely seen as a discriminatory law. Sadly at the moment, there aren’t any plans to change this.
In the meantime, the Red Cross is estimating that 14,000 donors are going to be needed before Easter in order to avoid a major blood shortage.
If you’re healthy and able, it’s worth going in to make a blood donation d keep supplies up during the coronavirus outbreak. You can make an appointment here.
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