Canadian Blood Services has put a call out for blood donations as supply tends to run low particularly during the summer months.

There are monthly blood donor clinics held at the Cochrane Alliance Church with one happening Monday, August 16.  Currently, the clinic on that day is booked, but as Deb Steele-Kretschmer with Canadian Blood Services explains, “Leading up to even a couple of days before or even on the day of, you’re going to see a lot of openings that pop up.”

Quite often, bookings are made well in advance, so you must cancel or re-book if you cannot make the appointment.  Patients are relying on donated blood products and Blood Services is collecting based on hospital demand.

It is a very simple process and all donors are encouraged to get involved.  Kretschmer says, “There is a specific need for donors that have O negative blood. “So right now, we just have about a four-day supply of O negative blood and we need to have between a five and eight-day supply of blood and blood products to meet anticipated hospital demands, at all times.”

Kretschmer says, “Safety is our highest priority at Canadian Blood Services and we do have enhanced wellness protocols and measures in place and they are going to remain throughout all our donor centres across the country to make sure that we are keeping our patients and our donors safe throughout the pandemic.”

Treatments for surgeries or procedures can often take multiple donors for one patient. For example, a victim of a car accident could need anywhere upward of 50 blood donors.

As it says on the Canadian Blood Services website, “Tomorrow, next week and next month, the need for blood is constant.”

If you are 17 years old or older and in good health, you are eligible to donate blood. You can have all your questions answered by going to blood.ca.

Or by calling 1 888 2 DONATE.