Canadian Blood Services looks to fill 400 donor slots in Halifax and Moncton this long weekend
Canadian Blood Services is making an urgent appeal for eligible donors to fill open appointment slots this long weekend.
Krysta Hanakowski, a community development manager with Canadian Blood Services, says about 400 appointment slots are unfilled at collection centres in Halifax and Moncton this long weekend.
“And then if you look beyond the long weekend there’s about 4,000 total appointments across the Maritimes that need to be filled, just in the month of August,” says Hanakowski.
Donor centres in Saint John and Charlottetown will be closed over the long weekend.
Eligible donors with group O-negative, O-positive, or B-negative are being asked to donate “as soon as they can.”
As of Wednesday, there is a four day national inventory for B-negative, O-positive, and O-positive blood types.
“The demand for blood is rising very quickly, and it’s higher now than it has been in the past 10 years,” says Hanakowski. “That’s because we’ve seen an increase (in demand) from the hospitals.”
“There’s been an increase in the amount of surgeries and treatments requiring blood transfusions.”
Hanawkowski says the demand from hospitals, combined with a typical summer slump in donations, is prompting the public appeal.
Correction
This is a corrected story. An earlier version indicated 800 open appointment slots this long weekend, based on information from Canadian Blood Services.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Polls close for closely watched byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg
The polls have closed and votes are being counted in two crucial federal byelections that are being closely watched by political parties.
GoFundMe cancels fundraiser for Ontario woman charged with spraying neighbour with a water gun
A Simcoe, Ont., woman charged with assault with a weapon after accidentally spraying her neighbour with a water gun says GoFundMe has now pulled the plug on her online fundraiser.
Freeland says she is 'not going anywhere' after Conservatives call her 'phantom finance minister'
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland declared she is 'not going anywhere' when pushed by the Conservatives on Monday about her future as finance minister.
Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump was near golf course for 12 hours
The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours.
Body recovered from B.C. lake after unclothed man leads investigators to crash site
Mounties are investigating a fatal crash north of Whistler, B.C., after an unclothed man who was found along the side of the road led police to a pickup truck submerged in a lake with one occupant still inside.
'Never seen anything like this': Humpback whale catches unsuspecting seal off Vancouver Island
A Vancouver Island nature photographer says he has never seen anything like what his camera captured on a recent whale-watching excursion off Victoria.
'Not that simple': Trump drags Canadian river into California's water problems
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised "more water than you ever saw" to Californians, partly by tapping resources from a Canadian river.
Mortgage loan rules are changing in Canada
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced changes to mortgage rules she says are aimed at helping more Canadians to purchase their first home.
First teen sentenced in Kenneth Lee case gets 15 months probation
The first teenager to be sentenced in the death of a Toronto homeless man will not face further time in custody, and instead participate in a community-based program.