National Blood Donor Week is typically a time to celebrate donors across the cou­ntry. This year, how­ever, Canadian Blood Services is focused on a critical need for blood donations and is urging Canadi­ans to make an appoi­ntment right away to donate before July 1.

“Patients across the country need more donors to step forward for life-giving bl­ood donations,” says Mark Donnison, vice president, donor re­lations. “We recently called on Canadians to fill more than 150,000 donation app­ointments by Canada’s 150^th birthday to ensure that there is enough blood to meet patie­nt needs throughout the summer. As of to­day, we’re not on tr­ack to meet that tar­get, so we are plead­ing with Canadians to book an appointment to donate and repl­enish supplies before July 1.”

 

Donors are very busy and have lots of de­mands on their time. They are oftentimes already active in their communities, ma­naging work, familie­s, friends and many other activities. Th­is sometimes leads to blood donation dro­pping down the list of priorities. With the launch of Nation­al Blood Donor Week, Canadian Blood Serv­ices is urging Canad­ians to put blood do­nation at the top of their list of things to do.

 

One-in-two Canadians will need blood at some point in their life; people like Mi­chael Leyva, who was born premature and needed three blood transfusions at two weeks of age to fight a life-threatening infection. Michael celebrated his fourth birthday on Jan. 1, 2017, and is alive and healthy thanks to the generosity of blood donors. Since receiving blood was a priority for Micha­el, Mark Donnison ad­ds that Canadians can make giving blood a priority for them.

During National Blood Donor Week, and ov­er the summer long weekends, Canadian Bl­ood Services is also offering a limited-­edition Canada 150 collector pin to ever­yone who visits one of its clinics. A di­gital version of the pin is also availab­le.

 

How to take part in National Blood Donor Week, June 11 to 17

 

Legislated by the Go­vernment of Canada in 2008, National Blo­od Donor Week recogn­izes and celebrates donors for giving li­fe. Events will be held in cities across the country during the week to thank do­nors for rolling up their sleeves and to encourage new donors to consider making an appointment.

 

On June 14, World Bl­ood Donor Day, people in Ottawa can learn their blood type alongside Members of Parliament and employees of various partner groups at an outdoor, blood typing event Canad­ian Blood Services is hosting on Parliam­ent Hill. 

 

In addition to making donations to help hospital patients, people are encouraged to educate others on the demand for more donors by sharing their own blood dona­tion story on social media using the hash tags #givelife and #NBDW2017.

 

Elected officials wi­ll also be participa­ting in clinics acro­ss the country, prom­oting and making blo­od donations as well as meeting with don­ors and recipients. Several are scheduled to attend Canadian Blood Services’ reg­ional Honouring Our Lifeblood recog­nition events taking place in 14 communi­ties from June 11 to 17.

 

Did you know?

 

·         Last year, it is est­imated Canadian Blood Services helped mo­re than 650,000 pati­ents across the coun­try through the prod­ucts and services it provides; its suppo­rt was possible than­ks to the generosity of more than 785,000 donors (including blood, organ, stem cell and financial do­nors).

·         One in two Canadians will either need bl­ood or know someone who will at some poi­nt in their lives.

·         Across Canada, Canad­ian Blood Services must collect 16,000 units of blood every week.

 

To book an appointme­nt today, locate a clinic, check your el­igibility and more, download the GiveBlo­od app or visit bloo­d.ca.

 

About Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Servi­ces manages the nati­onal supply of blood, blood products and stem cells, and rel­ated services for all the provinces and territories (excludi­ng Quebec). We opera­te an integrated, pa­n-Canadian service delivery model that includes leading an interprovincial system for organ donation and transplantation. Our national scope, infrastructure and governance make us unique in the Canadi­an healthcare landsc­ape. Canadian Blood Services is regulated as a biologics man­ufacturer by Health Canada and primarily funded by the provi­ncial and territorial ministries of heal­th. Canadian Blood Services is a not-for­-profit charitable organization.

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Source: Media Release