LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — The Penn Medicine LG Health Blood Center will host a two-day blood drive on Tuesday, May 5 and Thursday, May 7 at the Marine Corps League Detachment #294 on 2340 Ironville Pike in Columbia.
To ensure a limited number of people in the donation area, donors must sign up online, LG Health said. If appointment times are full, call 717-544-0170 to make an appointment to donate at the LG Health Blood Donor Center.
Prospective donors are encouraged to continue to check the Blood Donor Center website for additional donation opportunities so LG Health can maintain an adequate blood supply over the next several weeks.
Donation Process
Donors park their vehicle upon arrival and go to the building. A LG Health staff member provides donors with a number, pen and questionnaire. Donors must complete the questionnaire and wait in their car until their number is called. When called, donors bring the completed questionnaire along with identification to the building to complete registration and donate.
How to prepare for your blood donation
- Eat a full meal within four hours of arriving
- Be free of cold, flu, and allergy symptoms for three days prior to donating
- Be well hydrated the day before and the day of the donation
There is no data or precedent suggesting the risk of transfusion transmission of COVID-19 or other similar respiratory viruses (like SARS and MERS-CoV, also novel coronaviruses), LG Health said. Donors are screened for possible exposure to COVID-19 via travel or contacts immediately upon entering a donor area and social distancing is observed.
The FDA, CDC, and American Association of Blood Banks are not recommending any additional action at this time.
Please Note: If you have traveled within the last two weeks, had exposure to someone with COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms or have a fever, please do not donate at this time.
