Mount Dora and OneBlood are joining forces to host the Spring Break Blood Drive from 10am to 2pm Friday at Mount Dora City Hall, according to a news release from city officials.

OneBlood will have its donation bus parked in front of city hall, 510 North Baker St., and donors will receive a $20 ECard, a free water bottle and a wellness check that includes blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count and cholesterol screening.

“We need people to start turning out in force to give blood,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says in a OneBlood news release. He noted fears about coronavirus has kept people from donating blood.

Over the past week, blood centers throughout the country have experienced a significant drop in donations which is limiting the ability for the nation’s blood supply to be adequately replenished.

“We need people to prevent the blood supply from getting depleted,” adds Dr. Marks in the release. “We need it not to get to the point that surgeries are having to get canceled. That’s something we absolutely do not want to have happen. To ensure an adequate blood supply we need people to come out and donate blood.”

Here is the latest information from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and America’s Blood Centers regarding the coronavirus and the blood supply:

• The coronavirus poses no risk to blood donors, either during the donation process or from attending organized blood drives.
• The coronavirus poses no known risk to patients receiving blood transfusions.
• The FDA and the CDC have not recommended any additional action be taken by blood centers.
• America’s Blood Centers, and OneBlood encourages all donors and sponsors of blood drives to schedule appointments and keep commitments to donate blood.