For our donors and guests: Masks are required where mandated by local jurisdiction or blood drive site. Per CDC guidance, masks are otherwise not required for those fully vaccinated. If you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, you are eligible to donate blood, platelets or plasma. Read our COVID-19 FAQs.

Welcome, Donor!

The safety of donors, patients, staff and our volunteers is Vitalant’s top priority. Vitalant continues to follow rigorous safety and cleaning protocols, including:

  • Observing social distancing guidelines where possible.
  • Wearing gloves and changing/sanitizing them between donors.
  • Staff washing their hands frequently, before and after any donor contact and after removing gloves.
  • Wiping down donor-touched and other high-touch areas often and after every collection.
  • Requiring staff to diligently monitor for symptoms, stay home when they are ill or suspect illness.
 
Please do not donate blood if you are not feeling well. Blood donors are NOT tested to diagnose active coronavirus infection.

If you've received any COVID-19 vaccine, you may still give blood or platelets if you meet all general blood donation eligibility criteria.
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The FDA, which sets blood safety standards in the U.S., allows people vaccinated with non-live vaccines to give blood without a waiting period. All currently authorized vaccines in the U.S. are non-live vaccines.
 
The human body contains about 10 pints of blood and about 1 pint is given with a blood donation. The antibodies within a blood donation are rapidly replaced by the immune system and will not affect the donor’s immune response to COVID-19 or variants.
 
COVID-19 continues to pose no known risk to patients receiving blood transfusions. There are no reported cases of transmission of this virus via blood transfusion. There is no inherent risk of getting coronavirus from the donation procedure itself.
 
Vitalant requires that people with a lab-diagnosed COVID-19 infection, or those who suspect they may have had COVID-19 but weren’t tested, wait at least 14 days after resolution of their symptoms before donating for the community blood supply.
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - MASKS

Masks are required where mandated by local jurisdiction or blood drive site. Per CDC guidance, masks are otherwise not required for those fully vaccinated.

  • Vitalant requires donors, guests and staff who have not been fully vaccinated to wear a mask or other reasonable cloth-based face covering.
  • The CDC considers a person fully vaccinated two weeks after completing a COVID-19 vaccination series or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.
  • Vitalant will continue to have masks available for those who need one.
No, at this time, donors, volunteers and staff are not required to show proof of vaccination. Vitalant staff are required to attest they are fully vaccinated before they are allowed to remove their mask.  
Based on CDC guidance, a mask is recommended until two weeks after completing a COVID-19 vaccination series or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.
The CDC still recommends unvaccinated individuals wear masks when in public. We ask you to postpone your donation until you have been fully vaccinated or when guidance changes.
No. If you are not fully vaccinated, we ask that you wear a mask or reasonable cloth-based face covering. The CDC does not recommend using a face shield as a substitute. Also, masks with valves are not permitted.