Dominican Hosts Red Cross Blood Drive At Conlan Center

Dominican University of California co-sponsored a Red Cross blood drive in the University’s Conlan Recreation Center on Wednesday, April 8. All scheduled appointments were filled with people coming from all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

The American Red Cross strongly urges healthy, eligible individuals to schedule a blood, platelet or AB Elite plasma donation appointment.

"Dominican’s history of partnering with the community and with the Red Cross allows us to provide this essential service,” says Dominican’s President Mary B. Marcy.

In October of 2017, following the devastating North Bay wildfires in Santa Rosa and Napa, the Conlan Center served as the staging area for about 200 American Red Cross staff and volunteers to assist in relief efforts.

Dominican’s Conlan Recreation Center is located at 1475 Grand Avenue in San Rafael. There’s plenty of free parking in the Recreation Center’s parking lot. To schedule an appointment go to: redcrossblood.org (enter Zip Code 94901) or call 1-800-733-2767.

The Red Cross notes that donating is a safe process and people should not hesitate to give or receive blood or platelets. Each Red Cross blood drive and donation center follows the highest standards of safety and infection control. To ensure the health of employees, volunteers, and staff, precautions include:

• Checking temperatures of staff and donors before entering a drive to make sure they are healthy.
• Providing hand sanitizer for use before the drive, as well as throughout the donation process.
• Following social distancing between donors including entry, donation, and refreshment areas.
• Routinely disinfecting surfaces, equipment, and donor-touched areas.
• Wearing gloves, and changing gloves often.
• Using sterile collection sets and an aseptic scrub for every donation.
• Staff wearing basic face masks