The American Red Cross is offering coronavirus antibody tests to people who donate blood.
The Red Cross says when the pandemic hit, blood donations plummeted, but the supply lasted because hospitals suspended elective surgeries.
“But now that those surgeries are back on the books, we’re in an urgent situation right now,” said Regina Bratton Boothe of the Red Cross.
The Red Cross hopes offering the antibody test provides more incentive for donors.
“It’s a free test,” Bratton Boothe said. “The procedure, the blood donation procedure, is no different.”
The Red Cross says it will take up to seven days to get antibody test results back.
