By: Ligia Pacheco with Vanessa Arba, South American Division, and Adventist Review, courtesy Adventist Review

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have reached blood banks across Brazil, according to health officials. Since much of the population is following shelter-in-place orders, blood donations have decreased, and blood banks are suffering from low inventories.

Regional health officials reported that Rio de Janeiro saw a 50-percent drop in blood donations. São Paulo reported a 30-percent drop, and a 25-percent drop was reported in the capital city of Brasilia. At the same time, the demand for blood in health facilities across the country remains high.

Thinking of ways to serve in these challenging times, young Seventh-day Adventist church members across the country have been organizing to support blood banks in major cities. In São Paulo, for instance, a group named “Doadores ADV” (“Adventist Donors”) creates schedules to line up volunteer donors in various blood banks across the area.

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