More businesses are closing their doors and sending employees to work from home, attempting to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, more than 125 Arizona blood drives have been called off this month alone.

Because COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, it cannot be transmitted through a blood transfusion, but some are still concerned.

Sue Thew is with Vitalant, formerly known as United Blood Services. She said donors should know they’re in good hands.

“We are practicing social distancing at our donor centers where we’re having more space between donors," Thew said. "Technicians are wearing gloves, we do a very thorough arm scrub and we wipe down everything between donors.”

Nationwide, Vitalant has seen about 4,000 blood drives canceled and the loss of 130,000 blood donations.

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