Canadian Blood Services campaign highlights need for donors
Posted May 15, 2023 11:10 am.
A new campaign is being launched by Canadian Blood Services in a bid to attract more donors.
The Shine a Light campaign is highlighting the need for 100,000 blood and plasma donations to keep up with demand.
The non-profit organizations says numbers dropped during the pandemic.
“Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen Canada’s donor participation rate drop from just under four per cent of the eligible population to under two per cent,” said Ron Vezina, Canadian Blood Services’ vice-president of public affairs.
“This is a mobilization call to people across Canada to join us in strengthening Canada’s Lifeline.”
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Vezina says research has shown “the main reason people don’t donate is because they feel no one has ever asked them to.”
“That’s why we’re shining a light on this situation and calling on those who haven’t donated before to make that appointment – whether it is today, next week, or as soon as you can. You never know when someone in your life may need blood products. Your community needs you to begin donating on a regular basis,” Vezina added.
Canadian Blood Services is asking for people to step up and “make blood and plasma donation a habit” to reverse the downward trend, which continues.
In addition to an increase in donations, the organization says it is in need of people with less-common blood types to come forward.
FILE – A person at a blood donation appointment. (Kaitlin Lee, CityNews)
It notes the less common a blood type is, the more difficult it can be to find a donor match.
“Not only do we need to collect enough of each blood type, we know that blood from donors of the same or similar racial or ethnic background as the recipient is less likely to cause complications for patients who need regular transfusion therapy,” said Vezina. “Our priority is to ensure the best possible treatment and care is given to patients from all communities. To do that, we need to improve the representation of Black, South Asian, and other racialized people within our donor base.”
The Shine a Light campaign will run for six weeks, ending on World Blood Donor Day, which will also see 60 Canadian landmarks light up.
If you are looking to help out, you can sign up to donate online, by calling 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283), or through the GiveBlood app.
