The donor centers are probably the cleanest place you can visit outside an ICU. Their standard hygiene practices are superb and have been so since the HIV epidemic decades ago. (I’ve been giving blood routinely for at least 35 years.) Even if someone were to visit who had been exposed, there’s little chance they could transfer it to anything that would transfer it to you. The one opportunity you have to be close to other people who aren’t being extremely cautious at all times is in the canteen for your mandatory 20 minute break after donating, and unless the donor center is extremely crowded, you’ll be able to maintain a 6 foot separation and not touch anything that isn’t freshly removed from packaging for your use.
I donated platelets a week ago. I stopped donating whole blood ~ a year ago after noticing that it impacted my ability to exercise (blood oxygenation, presumably) for a few weeks after donating. Now that I’m sheltering-in-place and not getting any of my usual aerobic exercise, I’m considering giving whole blood once I’ve passed the waiting period.
The donor centers are probably the cleanest place you can visit outside an ICU. Their standard hygiene practices are superb and have been so since the HIV epidemic decades ago. (I’ve been giving blood routinely for at least 35 years.) Even if someone were to visit who had been exposed, there’s little chance they could transfer it to anything that would transfer it to you. The one opportunity you have to be close to other people who aren’t being extremely cautious at all times is in the canteen for your mandatory 20 minute break after donating, and unless the donor center is extremely crowded, you’ll be able to maintain a 6 foot separation and not touch anything that isn’t freshly removed from packaging for your use.
I donated platelets a week ago. I stopped donating whole blood ~ a year ago after noticing that it impacted my ability to exercise (blood oxygenation, presumably) for a few weeks after donating. Now that I’m sheltering-in-place and not getting any of my usual aerobic exercise, I’m considering giving whole blood once I’ve passed the waiting period.