Donation Needs

March 21, 2020

Many of you have asked me what you can do in the face of this crisis. Our priority is that you Stay Home and Stay Safe. For those who are safely able to help, there are three areas of tremendous need: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Blood and Food. It really is about the basics right now.

A Global shortage in Personal Protective Equipment along with the fact that only 14% of our request from federal resources is available for shipment at this time, means that every hospital system is looking for help protecting our front line healthcare workers – the people who take care of us.

DPH is implementing a plan to most efficiently distribute the equipment throughout the state with acute care hospitals and long term care facilities having priority. Despite these efforts though, WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP.

Governor Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Public Health have activated a framework for donations of PPE – protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection that are utilized by people providing healthcare services.

Members of the public, businesses, and philanthropic organizations that wish to donate these vital materials should fill out the online form by clicking here.

The specific items being requested by the state at this time include:

  • N95 Respirators
  • Face Masks/Surgical Masks
  • Face Shields
  • Surgical Gowns
  • Gloves (nitrile, or non-latex)
  • Thermometers
  • Thermometer Covers (if applicable to type of thermometer)
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Other Medical Items

The American Red Cross is facing a severe blood shortage due to the coronavirus outbreak. Due to the need to reduce large gatherings and assure social distancing, all blood drives have been canceled, causing the organization to lose near 1,300 blood donations in Connecticut alone.

The Red Cross is urging anyone who is healthy and can donate to give, though they ask that you wait at least 28 days to donate if you have traveled to China or its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Iran, Italy and South Korea, or if you’ve been diagnosed with or have had contact with anyone with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.

For more information about affected regions of the world and symptoms click here.