Canadian Blood Services urging Maritimers to roll up their sleeves and donate

Canadian Blood Services is urging residents from coast-to-coast to roll up their sleeves in what is a being described as desperate time for Canada’s lifeline.

Earlier this week, the organization put out a call asking everyone to donate blood and plasma as floods and wildfires in the country have put regular donors out of their routine.

Over the past week, Canadian Blood Services had to cancel more than 300 appointments in the Kelowna, B.C., area as wildfires continue to rage.

“The wildfires that we had in Nova Scotia, those impacted individuals who may have been consistent blood donors that were now addressing their families and helping out people in different ways,” says Raj Damhar, who is the community development manager for Canadian Blood Services in Saint John, N.B.

“With those in mind, that is why we need more than four per cent of the province to come out and donate.”

Damhar says every 60 seconds there is someone in Canada in need of blood, with the need ever greater during the summer months.

“The fact of the matter is, we have a population of just under 40 million Canadians,” Damhar says. “Half of that population is eligible to donate, and only four per cent of the population donates blood. To put that number into perspective, that is 380,000 people that are consistently donating to preserve the needs of the 40 million Canadians we have.”

“Those numbers should scare people,” Damhar added.

The organization says nearly 10,000 appointments are needed to keep up the demand by Labour Day, with O+ and 0- remaining the most-needed blood types.

“It’s such an easy thing to do,” says 23-year old Jack Long, who made his fifth donation on Thursday. “You can come in the evenings after work, you can be on your phone, the people here are so great and super nice, and you get free snacks after, so it’s all positive in my books.”

Donald Noble recently made his 49th donation, donating often due to high iron in his blood. He says when he first started donating, much of it had to be thrown away because of too much iron. He says he is happy to now be able to give to those in need, especially at this time of year.

“In peak times, like Labour Day for example coming up, there will be a lot of activity out there,” says Noble. “People travelling here and there, and if you have a car accident or whatever, you are going to need some blood and it’s important it’s there when it’s needed.”

“You can save a life,” says Denise McFadyen, who has been donating since 2011. “It doesn’t take long, and it’s just worthwhile because you never know, maybe someday you could be on the receiving end.”

Even for first-time donors, the entire process only takes about an hour. The time is even shorter for returning donors, with some getting in and out in 15 minutes.

Damhar says many donors don’t start donating until someone in their life has been impacted, but he wants residents to get ahead of that trend.

“It is the origin of pay-it-forward,” he says. “You donate blood for somebody in need and you hope somebody will donate if you are in need, or someone you love is in need.”

There are four donation centres in the Maritimes located in Halifax, Charlottetown, as well as Moncton and Saint John. For Maritimers looking to donate who don’t live in one of those cities, Canadian Blood Services holds pop-up clinics around the region with more information available on their website.