Legionnaires work with UCLA Blood and Platelet Center to collect donations, fulfilling an urgent need caused by the coronavirus.
American Legion posts have stepped up to the challenge of serving their communities in this new era of social distancing. One example is how Hollywood Post 43 coordinated a blood drive in its building last weekend at a time when there is an urgent need for donations.
A majority of the community blood drives put on by the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center in Southern California have been cancelled because Los Angeles has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus. Blood donation is considered an essential activity, and is approved by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We are all safer at home,” said Garcetti, a Navy veteran and member of Post 43. “Staying in our residences, being aggressive about hygiene, and practicing safe social distancing are the most effective ways to protect ourselves, the people we love, and everyone in our community. Each one of us is a first responder in this crisis. And Angelenos understand that we have to make big sacrifices right now to save lives.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people keep a distance of at least six feet from others when outside the home. Post 43 and the UCLA Health and Blood Platelet Center worked together to implement several special safety practices at the emergency blood drive, under the supervision of Dr. Dawn Ward.
“Today all of our donors are scheduled by appointment to help control the movement of people coming into and out of the drive,” she explained. “We are also taking everyone’s temperature before they enter the building. We want to ensure that no one has a fever. Then as the donors come in, we’re giving them a donor history questionnaire that they fill out with a pen that they get to keep so it’s not getting passed on.”
The center also worked with Post 43 to set up physical distancing to ensure sufficient space between donors and staff. They also set up a canteen where everything was individually wrapped to avoid sharing of items. “In addition to that, we are ensuring that everyone is practicing good hand hygiene, so they are cleaning and sanitizing their hands throughout the drive today,” said Ward.
Items used by donors such as beds and chairs was sanitized between each use.
“We are lucky to be here today,” Ward said. “You guys are providing a nice group of people coming to donate with us that meet our eligibility criteria.”
Post 43 does two drives annually that are coordinated by Post Historian and Marine Corps veteran Jennifer Brofer. This was an additional drive to help deal with a shortage caused by the pandemic.
“This is the first time I’ve coordinated a blood drive where all of our appointments filled up,” Brofer said. “So that’s really exciting because that means the community is really turning out to support during this pandemic with lifesaving blood donations.”
Another drive is planned for June.
At the April event, members were happy to do their part to support the local community and especially to see each other, even from six feet apart.
“There seem to be limited ways for us to be useful; not get in the way or add to the casualties,” Post 43 member Tucker Smallwood said. “It was a little surreal to see so many familiar faces ... and realize I would have happily embraced most of them. It was about the most people I've been with in one setting in two weeks.”
By working together to host a successful drive despite physical distancing requirements, Post 43 collected 56 units of blood.
“That's double what we usually collect at the post blood drives,” Brofer said. “I'm literally crying tears of joy. Thank you all so much for your support. We saved a lot of lives today.”
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