Heroes Remembered Blood Drive

Sep 10–Sep 11, 2020

In honor of 9/11, a Heroes Remembered Blood Drive will be held in three bloodmobiles in Atlantis’s West Parking Lot this Friday from 9:30am to 5:30pm. All donors will be screened for COVID-19 antibodies for free, and donors will be able to find out the results online in 2-3 weeks. The drive will be done by the non-profit blood service provider Vitalant, which is testing all donated blood for COVID-19 antibodies in order to find potential convalescent plasma donors. For those who have wondered if they’ve ever had an asymptomatic case or if “that time they felt sick months ago when everything was closed” was actually COVID, this is a chance to find out. In addition, donors will also find out their cholesterol levels, blood type, hemoglobin, and other wellness markers, and those results will be available to them online within 72 hours.

One blood donation can save up to three lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges to the U.S. blood supply. Donor centers have experienced a dramatic reduction in donations due to the implementation of social distancing and the cancellation of blood drives. Many normal donor sites, such as schools, aren’t available due to campus restrictions caused by the pandemic. Blood is needed every day to provide lifesaving treatments to a variety of patients.

Social distancing protocols will be maintained during the donation process, and only two donors will be allowed on the bloodmobile at one time with a complete wipe down and cleaning between each donor. Walk-ins are fine, but appointments are recommended. To make an appointment, call the blood donor desk at (775) 785-6644 or go online to https://bloodhero.com/, click “locate a blood drive” and enter sponsor code: 9/11Heroes.