Blasts of winter across Canada hurt blood donations

December has been a tough month for Canadian Blood Services, as inclement weather and holidays have slowed the number of donations.

In fact, because of bad weather, CBS has had to cancel a number of clinics and has also seen a decline in the number of donors attending clinics.

On Dec. 19, CBS said it lost about 2,000 donations over the course of a few days. By the end of December, it needed to fill 26,000 appointments across the country.

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“We encourage donors to book and keep their appointments if they can safely get to a clinic,” Mark Donnison, vice president of donor relations, said.

“Patients are depending on donors to fill open appointments now and throughout the rest of December.”

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In Edmonton alone, 500 appointments need to be filled between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31.

“On New Year’s Eve we do have a really high demand,” CBS territory manager Liz James said. “Our appointments are not filled to capacity. It is a time when a lot of people are out, people are busy or people are planning dinners and parties.”

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“The need for blood is constant and the reason we stress the need for blood over the holidays is a lot of our regular donors are away. We know a lot of people are busy with family functions and we really just reach out to the community to get a lot of new donors in,” James said.

“We cannot do it without the community coming to our clinics.”

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New iron eligibility guidelines also mean there’s an even greater demand for new donors. Because of that recent change, some donors won’t be able to donate as frequently and more donors are needed to fill the gap.

READ MORE: Change in Canadian Blood Services guidelines means increased need for donors 

If you are interested in donating with Canadian Blood Services, you can book an appointment through the Give Blood App for Apple or Android or by visiting blood.ca. If you enter your address on the website, it will show you which clinic is closest to you.