As Southern California blood bank donations hemorrhage amid novel coronavirus concerns, officials say it remains safe for healthy individuals to donate and are urging organizations to maintain scheduled blood drives.

At LifeStream, a San Bernardino blood bank serving 80 Southern California hospitals, at least a dozen drives have been canceled that could have provided more than 1,200 units of needed blood, which would have been enough to treat up to 3,000 patients, said Dr. Joe Chaffin, the company’s chief medical officer.

Gene Melcher of Redlands was one of a handful of regular donors who took a chair and squeezed a spongy heart at LifeStream blood bank in San Bernardino on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Agencies are scrambling to provide 80 Southern California hospitals with blood for transfusions as due to the coronavirus scare. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Open seats are plentiful at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank Thursday, March 12, 2020. On this day, it was nearly empty with many donors being regulars. Dr. Joe Chaffin, chief medical officer for LifeStream said donors should not be frightened because blood drives are not “mass gatherings” and are conducted with care and safety precautions. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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Regular blood donor Richard Gomes of Angelus Oaks puts pressure on his arm after giving blood at the San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Six blood drives canceled in the wake of the coronavirus scare. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

RN Bernardette Toledo helps keep the mood light with regular blood donor Richard Gomes of Angelus Oaks at the San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank on Thursday, March 12, 2020. A majority of chairs were open at the facility which has seen six blood drives canceled in the wake of the coronavirus scare. The agency is scrambling to provide 80 Southern California hospitals with blood for transfusions.(Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Tom Hurst of Redlands is seen through an etched blood drop at the San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank which is running low on blood due to, in part, by the coronavirus on Thursday, March 12, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



Blood donor legend Larry Bloemsma, 85, has been giving blood since 1964 and has been sitting in the same spot at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank for 50 years. The Redlands resident image is in the background on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The conversation and mood was light among the handful of donors this afternoon. Six blood drives were canceled in the wake of the coronavirus scare and the agency is scrambling to provide 80 Southern California hospitals with blood for transfusions. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Seats are available at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank where Donor Specialist Sarah Miller, center, prepares to stick regular donor Brian Lawson of Redlands on Thursday, March 12, 2020. On this day, it was nearly empty with many donors being regulars. The coronavirus scare has the agency scrambling to provide 80 Southern California hospitals with blood for transfusions. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

“You’re my favorite sticker,” jokes blood donor extraordinaire Larry Bloemsma, 85, of Redlands whose donated 1,100 times at 157 gallons of blood at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank. The Redlands resident remembers when it was only a couple chairs in 1964 on Thursday, March 12, 2020. He agreed to give platelets and red blood cells to help with the agency’s low quantity of it. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

An entrance post tells people not to donate blood if they’ve been to Mainland China, South Korea, Italy or Iran in the past four weeks at San Bernardino-based LifeStream on Thursday, March 12, 2020. A duplicate in Spanish was on left. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Gene Melcher of Redlands was undeterred by the coronavirus scare, in fact, the popular topic never came up among the handful of donors and staff of LifeStream blood bank in San Bernardino on Thursday, March 12, 2020. He, like many there, brought reading material and is a regular donor. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



“It’s like a water hose” super blood donor Larry Bloemsma of Redlands says of his vein at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank on Thursday, March 12, 2020. This is what the arm of a healthy 85-year-old looks like after donating 1,100 times and yielding 157 gallons of blood. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

No photos of the needle piercing the skin was allowed at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank which needs more blood donations Thursday, March 12, 2020. There’s no evidence that the coronavirus is transmissible by blood. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Dynamic duo Ed Ginsbach, left, gave blood until his 90’s and Larry Bloemsma, 85, of Redlands is still donating at San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank on Thursday, March 12, 2020. This hall of fame picture hangs several feet away from the spot where Bloemsma has been giving blood for 50 years. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

San Bernardino-based LifeStream blood bank is running low on precious blood Thursday, March 12, 2020. A majority of chairs were open at the facility which has seen six blood drives canceled in the wake of the coronavirus scare. The agency is scrambling to provide 80 Southern California hospitals with blood for transfusions.(Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

In most cases, the drives were abandoned by organizers amid fears that donors could contract or spread coronavirus, Chaffin said. “What we are seeing is the unintended consequences of people trying to avoid public gatherings,” he added. “A blood drive is not a mass gathering. It’s a very controlled environment.”

However, concerns about the virus didn’t dissuade several donors on Thursday from visiting LifeStream’s largest blood collection center in San Bernardino.

Larry Bloemsma, 85, of Redlands, whose photograph hangs at the blood bank and is displayed on a center bus in honor of his 56 years as a regular donor, smiled as LifeStream donor specialist Sarah Miller slipped a needle into his arm.

“You are my favorite sticker,” he said told Miller affectionately.

Bloemsma, who has visited the LifeStream blood center regularly since 1964 — donating about 1,100 times and giving about 157 gallons of blood — said he gets satisfaction from donating.

“I feel like I am helping to save lives,” he said, adding he even had more incentive to donate because of the virus. “I am thankful that I have good health and can give.”

Brian Lawson, 59, of Redlands, another regular donor at center, said Thursday he has no qualms about giving blood in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It really doesn’t bother me,” he said, adding that the staff is “very professional” and all of the equipment is well maintained.

LifeStream follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements to protect its blood supply and has taken steps to keep donors at greater risk of having or carrying the virus out of blood collection areas, Chaffin said.

“We also voluntarily clean surfaces that donors may touch regularly, including wiping down donor beds between each blood donation,” he said. “Donors move through the collection process individually, and they are generally not in close contact with other donors, which is why the process is very unlike a large public gathering.”

Potential donors are also asked in advance if they have symptoms of the virus, have recently traveled to 33 countries identified by the Centers for Disease Control where coronavirus is widespread or have had contact with travelers to those countries, Chaffin said.

COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms associated with the respiratory disease, which appear two to 14 days after exposure, include fever, a cough and shortness of breath. While most people — including healthy young adults — will experience only mild symptoms, the disease can be severe and even fatal for at-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with underlying health problems.

There is no evidence the coronavirus can be transmitted by blood transfusion. However, as of this week, that hasn’t stopped the cancellation of more than 300 American Red Cross blood drives across the nation, including more than 35 in Southern California, resulting in 1,428 uncollected blood donations.

Cold and flu season already has impacted the nation’s ability to maintain its blood supply, and as the number of coronavirus cases grows in the U.S., those eligible to give blood for patients in need could decrease further, according to the Red Cross.

“We’re asking the American people to help keep the blood supply stable during this challenging time, said Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Blood Services. “As communities across the country prepare for this public health emergency, it’s critical that plans include a readily available blood supply for hospital patients.

“As fears of coronavirus rise, low donor participation could harm blood availability at hospitals, and the last thing a patient should worry about is whether lifesaving blood will be on the shelf when they need it most.”

Although there is no shortage of blood supply in the U.S., blood drive cancellations are putting a strain on a Red Cross national inventory system that allows blood to be moved throughout the country to locations where it is most needed, said spokeswoman Christine Welch.

On Thursday, even as classes were canceled and student coursework moved online, some Southern California colleges heeded the call to continue with scheduled blood drives.

The UCI Blood Donor Center that provides blood and platelets to patients of UCI Health and Orange County’s busiest trauma center, UCI Medical Center, wrapped up a three-day drive Thursday that collected 300 units of blood, primarily from students and staff, said spokesman John Murray.

Also on Thursday, the Inter-Club Council at El Camino College near Torrance felt a sense of duty to proceed with a drive in conjunction with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“It’s an important opportunity for our students and employees to help meet a critical need in the community, said Marc Stevens, a spokesman for the college. “That need doesn’t lessen just because there’s a virus outbreak underway, so we’re pleased to be able to host the blood drive.”