Nearly 400 blood donations needed every week in KW: Canadian Blood Services
Posted Jun 12, 2019 11:30:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canadian Blood Services is thanking blood donors throughout Waterloo Region for their generosity.
It's all centred around National Blood Donor Week, which runs until June 16, and World Blood Donor Day on June 14.
Tara Gutscher, the Territory Manager for Canadian Blood Services, says the KW Donor Centre will be celebrating donors with a cake and another surprise.
“We also have special thank you from some local recipients who are actually saying thank you to the donors, so they can see someone real and local that they helped save.”
Gutscher says there is still an ongoing need for blood donors Canada-wide.
“Every minute, somebody in Canada needs blood. Donated blood lasts no longer than 42 days, and in Canada we rely strictly on generosity of donors to keep the lifeline going. We have a need that is ongoing in Canada, and in Kitchener-Waterloo specifically we need almost 400 blood donations every week.”
She says although they have a large group of people who consistently donate, they are looking to recruit new people to help save lives.
“We need over 100,000 new blood donors this year in Canada to keep up with demand. About four per cent of the eligible population are those who donate right now. We need new donors to come in and donate blood to help us save local lives.”
Gutscher adds they always have a need for O negative blood because this blood can be transfused into any person.
