Blood donor clinic in town June 7

May 31, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By JASEN OBERMEYER

The Canadian Blood Services (CBS) will be holding a blood donor clinic on Thursday, June 7, to prepare for the summer ahead.

The clinic will be at the Caledon Community Complex from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CBS recently made some changes to its policies about who is eligible to donate blood, including changing
the wait times from six months after receiving tattoos and piercings to three months, as well as removing the HIV deferral for people who have travelled to Cameroon and Togo.

“It always seems like we’re scrambling for blood donors at all times of the year,” according to Elaine St. Pierre, CBS’s territory manager, as blood has a short shelf life.

Recent stats show that although half of Canada’s population is eligible to donate blood, only four per cent do.

Ms. St. Pierre says that come summer, they see a decrease in regular donors who go off on vacation or are caught up in various summer activities. This, coupled with an increase in blood need due to more road accidents increasing, means that people need to remember to donate. “You never know when it’s going to be you or someone you love who will need the blood.”

She added they have regular donors in Caledon, but “there’s a little bit of a shortfall,” as every time they come they look for 58 donations, but average around 50. At the time of release, there are still around 40 spots still available.

There are a limited number of walk-ins, so those looking to donate are encouraged to book an appointment at blood.ca, download the GiveBlood app, or call 1-888 2 Donate.