We need you!

Our community is experiencing emergency levels of low blood supply. To help give back, OlyDerm is hosting its first ever virtual blood drive!

We are asking everyone who is feeling healthy – especially O negative and O positive donors – to please consider scheduling a donation in the month of February.

It’s easy as making an online appointment and visiting the closest Bloodworks location at 1220 Eastside St SE in Olympia. It supports our local need and takes about an hour. Let Bloodworks know you are donating on behalf of Olympic Dermatology by providing this code: ODLC.

Read on to learn why it’s needed, safe and more about how you can participate.

What is a Virtual Blood Drive?
It’s a way for Olympic Dermatology to host a blood drive in conjunction with Bloodworks NW, the non-profit organization harnessing donor blood gifts to provide a constant, safe, lifesaving blood supply to 95% of hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. With Covid-related shutdowns, thousands of Bloodworks’ regular one-day drives at schools and businesses like OlyDerm are cancelled. But the need for blood at local hospitals is high. A virtual drive provides community members the opportunity to give back in a masked, physically-distanced setting while helping provide a stable blood supply for patients at 90+ hospitals in our area.

Is it safe?
Yes, donating blood is safe activity. Individuals are not at risk of contracting COVID through the blood donation process. Bloodworks policies comply with FDA, CDC, local health departments, and other applicable recommendations. We also routinely sanitize our donation areas, chairs, surfaces and common objects like door knobs and light switches, and use hand sanitizer. Blood donor screening methods already in place reliably protect the blood supply. Note that there have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted COVID anywhere in the world.

Who can donate?
In general, anyone who is healthy, at least 18 years old and weighs 110 pounds or more may donate blood. In Washington, those 16 or 17 years old may donate with a parent/guardian-signed Bloodworks permission slip. There is no upper age limit. You can donate once every 56 days, or about six times a year.

What about the COVID-19 vaccine and blood donation?
You may donate if you received the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax or AstraZeneca COVID vaccines. But if you have a cold, flu and sore throat, please wait to donate until you are symptom-free for 24 hours. You may contact us to reschedule your appointment and then we’d love to see you when you’re healthy, symptom-free of any cold or virus and feeling better. Also those taking oral antibiotics should not donate if currently experiencing symptoms.

Is it true that people with tattoos or piercings can’t donate?
No. If your body art was done in a licensed facility in WA, OR, CA, or ID, you may donate. For all others, it’s a one-year wait from the time you were inked or pierced.

Can I donate if I have or had COVID?
Please do not donate today if in the past 14 days you have had any COVID symptoms, had a positive diagnostic (nasal swab) test for COVID but you never developed symptoms or if you are under self-quarantine. Also, please do not donate for at least 14 days after resolution of symptoms, or the date of a positive diagnostic (nasal swab) test, whichever is longer. If you are diagnosed with COVID at any time after blood donation, please contact us at 425-656-3077. Additionally, the normal donor screening process includes evaluation of your health today, including temperature. All of our donation criteria help us ensure blood safety.

What keeps healthy people from donating?
The most common reasons are:

“I’m nervous about giving blood.”  This is normal. Just about everyone has a few jitters the first time they give blood. Once you realize how easy it really is you’ll wonder why you were so nervous.

“It hurts!”  Actually it’s quick pinch and then it’s over in about 7 minutes. Really!

“They wouldn’t want my blood because of the illness I had.”  Give us a call at 800-398-7888 to confidentially speak with one of our nurses. You may also email your questions to ClinicalProgram@BloodWorksNW.org. Many illnesses, such as colds and the flu, require donors to be only temporarily deferred until they are well.

“My blood type isn’t the right type.”  Every blood type is the right type. All blood types are needed by patients all the time. Blood is perishable, so donors are constantly needed to help maintain an adequate inventory. A common blood type might save up to 3 people, a rare blood type might help someone who has been waiting for the right type.

“Other people must be giving enough blood.”  Only 8% of western Washington’s population gives blood and they can’t give all the time. Donors move away, become pregnant, go on vacations or become ill and pass away. The need for new donors is constant, as is the need for blood and blood components. The needs of our community’s patients can only be met by people like you.

If I’m ready to donate, how can I help?
Step 1: Make a donation appointment today. Go to https://schedule.bloodworksnw.org. You may also call 800-398-7888.

Step 2: On the day of your donation, let the registrar know that you are donating on behalf of the Olympic Dermatology by providing this code:  ODLC.

Note, the closest Bloodworks location to OlyDerm and perhaps where you live is: 1220 Eastside St SE Olympia, WA 98501.