People aren't giving blood due to coronavirus, but they should You can still donate during the shelter-in-place

American Red Cross officials are urging healthy people to give blood during the coronavirus outbreak to keep blood supplies from becoming critically low. (August 7, 2019, file photo,) American Red Cross officials are urging healthy people to give blood during the coronavirus outbreak to keep blood supplies from becoming critically low. (August 7, 2019, file photo,) Photo: Jerry Baker, Houston Chronicle / Contributor Photo: Jerry Baker, Houston Chronicle / Contributor Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close People aren't giving blood due to coronavirus, but they should 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, blood donations are drying up, potentially endangering the lives of thousands of patients who need transfusions.

As of Sunday, about 2,270 Red Cross blood drives had been canceled across the country due to concerns about the novel coronavirus, resulting in approximately 71,400 fewer blood donations, Red Cross spokeswoman Christine Welch said in an email to SFGATE.

She said she expects that figure to rise.

“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,” Welch said.

She noted that volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need of transfusions.

Andy Lynch, spokesman for San Francisco Mayor London Breed, said in an email the Bay Area-wide shelter-in-place order that went into effect at midnight Monday does not apply to blood donations.

“Giving blood is an essential social service. People are encouraged to still give blood,” he said.

Understandably, people are hesitating to donate when their leaders are hammering the importance of staying at home and maintaining “social distancing” when going out. But Welch said giving blood is a safe process.

“Donating blood does not impact or weaken the immune system,” Welch said. “In fact, we urge healthy individuals to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment to help maintain a sufficient blood supply and avoid any potential shortages.”

Last week, a viral tweet that started with the words “CORONAVIRUS LOOPHOLE!!!!!” falsely claimed that if you donated blood, you would automatically be tested for COVID-19 for free. The spurious tweet was eventually taken down, but not before it was retweeted 85,000 times.

Welsh said there is no test to screen blood donations for COVID-19 and no data or evidence that the disease, or any respiratory virus for that matter, can be transmitted by blood transfusion.

Red Cross employees adhere to strict safety protocols, including wearing gloves, wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection, using sterile collection sets for every donation and arm scrubbing.

In addition, Welch said, both staff and donors have their temperatures checked before blood drives, surfaces and equipment are regularly disinfected and donor beds are spaced as far as part as possible.

SFGATE reached out to Vitalant, which runs blood drives and donation centers in 40 states including California, for comment about about the status of donations, but the company did not respond.

In January, Vitalant told its regular donors that blood supplies were already low, more than a month before the coronavirus crisis in the U.S.

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Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate