Blood center gets creative during pandemic

When faced with the lowest of lows, SunCoast Blood Centers turned to a donate at home option.

By Amanda Postma
| 5:00 a.m. September 15, 2022
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

In response to a drop in donors during the pandemic, Suncoast Blood Centers added a service for residents to donate from their homes. Scott Bush, pictured, says each van costs about $50,000. (Photo by Lori Sax)

Health Care

Before the pandemic, blood donors were hard to come by. But when 2020 rolled around, they were even more scarce. “In 2020, we didn’t have blood drives,” Scott Bush, CEO, says, “but surgeries were still happening.”

Lakewood Ranch-based SunCoast Blood Centers did the only thing it could think to do: it went mobile, introducing the Donate@home service. Through this service the nonprofit was able to visit donors at their home. It was especially helpful for people who were hesitant to leave their house during the pandemic, as each van is run by one person — keeping contact with other people to a minimum.“We can go right to their driveway,” Bush says.