Talk to your local center about eligibility guidelines. In most states you have to be 17 years old and above; with parental consent, some states allow donors to be 16. You must weigh at least 110 pounds. There are no standing upper age limits.

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Dr. Claudia Cohn, director of the Blood Bank Laboratory at the University of Minnesota and chief medical officer of A.A.B.B., said in an interview earlier this year that normally, older Americans are the country’s best donors.

“They give a disproportionate amount of blood,” Dr. Cohn said. “Even though we think their risk is very low, we want to protect them if they want to be careful about going out.”

That means centers are asking younger people to step up and donate more than they usually do.

Can you get coronavirus by donating blood?

“This is not a blood-borne disease, that is clear,” Dr. Cohn said. “Blood itself is safe.” Coronaviruses in general don’t seem to be blood transmissible, as evidence from earlier outbreaks of SARS and MERS has shown.

How are blood centers ensuring donor safety?

“We completely understand people are hesitant,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer of biomedical services at the American Red Cross, earlier this year. “We want to reassure the public that we’re handling this with an abundance of caution.”

Red Cross blood centers have ramped up ordinary procedures, with staff members masked, gloved and conducting extra temperature checks, on both themselves and donors. All surfaces are repeatedly wiped down and donors are spaced six feet apart.

“With centers taking extra measures to eliminate risk, it’s safer than going to the store,” Dr. Cohn said.