Canadian Blood Services seeing ‘very drastic dip’ in blood donations locally
Canadian Blood Services in Kitchener-Waterloo are making a plea to the public after they say donations dried up following a surge over the holidays.
Edward Fulton said he donates every couple of months.
“The reason I do it is my mom needed a lot of blood because she had progressive leukemia so she asked if family would do it. So I started ever since, so [2007],” said Fulton.
Repeat donors make up only a small portion Canadian Blood Services receives.
“Typically where we get a huge bulk of our donors from each year is new donors. So this comes from secondary and post-secondary schools, which we unfortunately have not been able to return to,” said Gina Leyva with Canadian Blood Services.
The organization said they rely heavily on mobile clinics with the location on Bridgeport Road in Waterloo being their only permanent spot in the Tri-cities.
Due to the pandemic, the mobile clinics have not returned to schools, as many students are studying online.
This is cause for concern, according to local clinic staff.
“Just after the holiday period, we saw a very drastic dip in blood donations,” admitted Leyva.
There are still about 250 appointments available next week. That’s half of the number of appointments they can accommodate.
“And for me, locally, I haven't seen a number like that in many months,” said Leyva.
Canadian Blood Services said they need more donations to carry them through the rest of the winter.
They’re grateful for donors like Sara Flamenco Martinez.
“I'm a nursing student as well so I get an idea of being out there in the field. I see people with blood transfusions – just the necessity for that,” said Flamenco Martinez. “It's just really unfortunate and I wonder why people aren't coming out.”
While local Canadian Blood Services staff said they have a big mountain to climb, they're hopeful they can get there because it just takes a bit of blood and a bit of time to save a life.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.