American Red Cross begins to test all blood it receives for COVID-19 antibodies

ZANESVILLE – This testing begins today. The Red Cross’ Lori Gaitten feels like there’s been a “buzz” around antibody testing and she feels that people want to know what may be lingering inside of their blood. She is adamant that the red cross is not providing these tests to diagnose an illness. Anyone who believes they may be ill with COVID-19 should not donate they are symptom free for at least 28 days.

“I think there’s a been a lot of people whose been very sick – January, February, March, and this enables them to give blood, save somebody else’s life, and then find out whether they were exposed to COVID at any point in, you know, the past several months,” Gaitten said.

There is a guidelines donors must follow who submitted their blood for the test and would like to know the result.

“In order to get your results, you must download the blood donor app and they will send the results directly to the app and let you know whether you have the antibodies or not,” Gaitten said.

There is a critical need for blood donors of all types to give now. In Zanesville, there is a drive at the Colony Square Mall from 2 to 7 PM and another on Wednesday at Secrest Auditorium from 10 AM to 4 PM.