One in two people in Canada are eligible to donate blood, and yet just one in 60 actually do B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 a statistic David Patterson, director of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services in BC and the Yukon is trying to change.
As part of the 10th anniversary of National Blood Donor Week (June 11 to 17) in Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Health held a local blood drive at their downtown location Monday, aiming to put a dent in the 6,000 open appointments in clinics across the province.
B次元官网网址淲e do a very good job of making blood safe for patients, but we canB次元官网网址檛 manufacture blood,B次元官网网址� Patterson says, referring to donors. B次元官网网址淲e couldnB次元官网网址檛 run a blood system without them.B次元官网网址�
Have you ever given blood? ItB次元官网网址檚 the 10th annual National Blood Donor Week and a public service drive is on until 3:45pm today at the Ministry of Health in downtown
B次元官网网址� Victoria B次元官网网址 (@VictoriaB次元官网网址)
By July 1, an estimated 44,000 blood donors are needed across Canada. The summer season tends to see a drop in the number of donors and CBS struggles to maintain the levels of blood needed.
While 1,700 clinics run on an annual basis in B.C., collecting over 10,000 units of blood per week, CBS runs a national inventory for blood supply.
B次元官网网址淭here are patients out there who have very rare blood types,B次元官网网址� Patterson explains. B次元官网网址淭he person who may match a person for Victoria may live in Regina, so we do that matching across the country.B次元官网网址�
Less than four per cent of the population supports 100 per cent of the patients in Canada, he adds.
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Alice Boggs regularly donates blood B次元官网网址� women can do so every 12 weeks, men every eight weeks B次元官网网址� and felt compelled to drop by the clinic Monday morning. Boggs donated three times last year, and plans to donate plasma, a liquid component of blood, in the coming weeks.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just something that I figure I can do B次元官网网址� not everyone can B次元官网网址� I donB次元官网网址檛 have a rare blood type or anything, but itB次元官网网址檚 still a blood type,B次元官网网址� she says.
As part of National Blood Donor Week, Canadian Blood Services is running a campaign called B次元官网网址楾he Missing Type.B次元官网网址� Keep an eye out on social media, where Canadians are encouraged to remove the letters B次元官网网址榓B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址榖B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址榦B次元官网网址� from their handles and posts, to draw awareness to the letters of the main blood groups, and learn their own blood types.
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B次元官网网址淎s blood donors, we can make sure there is never a missing blood type,B次元官网网址� says Rick Prinzen, Canadian Blood ServicesB次元官网网址� chief supply chain officer and VP of donor relations. B次元官网网址淲e need to constantly add new blood donors to have enough of each blood type on hand for patients across Canada.B次元官网网址�
If youB次元官网网址檙e unsure about whether youB次元官网网址檙e able to donate, visit to take the eligibility quiz, download the GiveBlood app, or call 1-888-236-6283 at any time to speak with a nurse.
