Gayle Anderson was live in Studio City, the location of one of the Cedars-Sinai Blood Donor Services mobile unit blood drives. Cedars-Sinai has issued an urgent call for blood donations due to a critical shortage due to the pandemic and the surge in Coronavirus patients.
According to the medical center, Cedars-Sinai is one of the few Level I trauma centers in Los Angeles, where patients receive transfusions of more than 30,000 units of red blood cells, 7,000 units of platelets and 11,000 units of plasma every year.
The eligible are encouraged to donate blood and platelets to help ease the strain. Blood Donor Services appointments are available Monday through Saturday at the Cedars-Sinai state-of-the-art blood donation facility at 8700 Beverly Boulevard, #1690, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Donation hours are: Monday, Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m or locate a blood donation drive at donatebloodcedars.org.
Cedars-Sinai requirements for donating blood: Before donating, there are some basic requirements that all donors must meet. Eligible donors will need to:
- If you have received the COVID vaccine, please wait 3 days before attempting to donate
- Be at least 17 years old*
- Weigh at least 110 pounds
- Be in good health generally and feel well on the day of donation
- Bring a current photo ID on the day of donation
May be eligible if 16 years old, if weight is at least 135 pounds and have signed Parental Consent Form.
More details to determine if you can donate are on Cedars-Sinai.org, where you can learn the medication, medical history, places of travel & residence, tattoos and piercings restrictions.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Gayle Anderson at 1-323-460-5732 or email at Gayle.Anderson@KTLA.com.
This aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on Jan. 19, 2022.