Red Cross offers free antibody test for blood donors

LITTLE ROCK — The American Red Cross will provide free covid-19 antibody tests for all blood donors in anticipation of increased demand for blood as states move toward the second phase of reopening plans related to the coronavirus, officials announced Wednesday.

The American Red Cross is testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for covid-19 antibodies. Testing will indicate whether the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies related to the coronavirus, regardless of whether donors developed symptoms. Samples will be pulled at the time of donation and sent to a laboratory.

Joe Zydlo, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, said the move is greatly needed because there is an urgent need for blood donations as hospitals resume surgeries and treatments that require blood products.

“We were able to stabilize in March because hospitals stopped doing elective surgeries, which cut down the blood usage around 30%,” he said. “Now that they are operating fully again we need to be at 100%, but we have already lost 10 to 20% because schools are not in session.”

Zydlo said finding locations for blood drives has been challenging because many business aren’t open or employees are working from home. The Red Cross has seen 30,000 blood drive cancellations nationwide, and Zydlo expects more cancellations as states begin to see spikes in covid-19 cases.

The Red Cross will hold blood drives later this month in Benton, Washington, Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Mississippi and Sharp counties. Information about those blood drives is available online at redcross.org.