The Canadian Blood Services is urgently looking for blood donors as they have seen a decrease in donors since the pandemic.  

The Territory Manager for Canadian Blood Services Johanna DelRosario says that the organization has lost 31,000 donors since the start of July and is now relying on a small group of donors to help meet patients' needs. 

“In the Airdrie-Calgary area there are 1000 open appointments that need to be filled by the end of August and we encourage the community of Airdrie and surrounding areas to book your appointment,” DelRosario says.  

There are a lot of mobile donor centers close or within Airdrie, including Genesis Place, Airdrie Town and Country Center, and the Cochrane Alliance Church, as well as many options in Calgary.   

The organization previoulsy said that on Monday (August 8) it only had four days' worth of O+ blood type supply and five days' worth of O- and B- blood types, along with six days' worth of A- blood type and seven days' worth of A+ and B+ blood types. 

Summer is always a challenging time for Canadian Blood Services as people travel abroad, it is also the first summer since 2019 where there are fewer restrictions on travel and activities.   

For people that may be hesitant about needles, DelRosario says to think about the children that need blood. 

“For those that are scared of needles, I was also scared of needles before I started donating. Just thinking about all the patients helped me. We have children that have leukemia or cancers that need needle pricks almost all of their lives, every day or every week. Think of those brave little children that do this, that’s why you can do this as well” DelRosario stated.  

If you are interested in donating you can book appointments here 

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