Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Canadian Blood Services will return to host a mobile blood clinic at Napanee’s Strathcona Paper Centre on Sept. 29.
The clinic will run from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Those interested in donating blood must pre-book their spot at www.blood.ca or calling 1-888-2-DONATE.
Continual donations are needed to help stock the national blood inventory, as donated blood can only be stored for 42 days. A steady supply is constantly in demand as donor blood can be needed at a moment’s notice due to weather emergencies, accidents or patients undergoing surgery.
The need for new donors is particularly high following the pandemic, where an estimated 31,000 Canadians who were regular donors stopped giving for various reasons. Pre-pandemic an estimated four per cent of Canadians were rolling up their sleeve to give on a regular basis, post-pandemic that number has dropped to about two per cent. Getting people into donor chairs has always been an issue during summer months as well as busy travel schedules can make it difficult for people to get out to a clinic. This end of summer clinic aims to help catch up following the warmer months.
“The need is always going to be constant because the perishability of the shelf life of the products,” said Debbi Barfoot, community development manager, donor relations and collections for Canadian Blood Services’ eastern Ontario region.
“There’s many, many challenges and we need to get out there and recruit new blood donors into the system because a small group of dedicated donors continue to sustain the national blood system, but more are needed to grow the donor base and keep Canada’s life line strong.”
The Sept. 29 mobile clinic is one of six that will be held in Napanee this year.
Those that can’t attend the mobile clinic can always make an appointment at Canadian Blood Services’ Kingston clinic, located at 850 Gardiners’ Rd.