This coming long weekend, families all across Alberta and Canada will be packing up the family and driving off to visit parents, grandparents, and other extended members of the familial clan.
With increased numbers on the road, the risk of collision and injury increases, as does the need for blood donations.
For people in Stettler and the surrounding communities who want to donate, the Red Deer Blood Services branch will be having its monthly clinic at the Stettler Community Hall on Oct. 13 at 3:30 p.m.
Each blood donation can save up to three lives.
Starting with Thanksgiving, and over the next six weeks, Canadian Blood Services will need more than 6,000 additional donors to book appointments to meet the needs of hospital patients all across Canada.
“The need for blood and blood products is constant and we are proactively increasing our efforts to encourage Canadians to donate now,” Sue Blasutti, executive director of donor and clinic services at Canadian Blood Services said in a press release. “It can take many units of blood to save a patient. For example, it can take 50 units of blood to help just one car accident victim.”
Long weekends, like Thanksgiving, are a difficult time to collect blood because people are often away or are busy with family activities. Meanwhile, the demand for blood and blood products remains strong due in part to higher traffic on the roads, which can result in more traumas requiring blood.
“Our national inventory means that no one is currently going without blood and we can draw on our reserves so that patients who need blood continue to get it,” Blasutti stated. “We do, however, need to work to replenish our blood supply now and over the next six weeks heading into the holiday season. We are calling on Canadians to make an extra effort to come in and make a life-saving donation.”
People willing to help with a donation can book an appointment immediately by calling 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).