Lisa Castro and her team at Canadian Blood Services were blown away on Tuesday (April 11), when a blood clinic at Bert Church Theatre exceeded their goal.

"We actually collected 103 percent of our goal. We actually ended up with 124 units of blood on that day."

Castro said part of the success is due to the fact that the clinic was adopted by the Accreta Foundation.

"This particular clinic differed in the fact that we had an organization stepping up to really help us promote the clinic, They sort of took on quite a few appointments to help us fill the need for blood, and we're really looking for more partners in the community to do the same."

According to Castro, when a blood clinic is adopted, it is more likely to be successful than just a regular clinic because the adopting organization invests into the promotion of the clinic and supplies patients. Castro said it also allows them to welcome new donors that haven't tried donating blood. She is hopeful for upcoming blood clinics in Airdrie, such as one on June 23, which has been adopted by the Rocky View School Division. Two clinics in early July at the Town and Country centre are still looking to be adopted.

Despite the success of this week's clinic, Castro said there is always a need for donors.

"New donors are critical to meeting Canada's future blood needs. We're really relying on people to step up to donate blood on an ongoing basis. The need for blood never stops."

According to Castro, long weekends and holidays such as Easter are times when new donors are especially needed, as regular donors tend to forego visiting clinics at those times.

Castro says the best way to book an appointement is to download the Give Blood app or visit blood.ca.

 

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