Blood donor clinics coming to Strathmore

By Janet Kanters, Editor

The number of blood donor clinics is starting to increase, and several are planned for Strathmore in the coming weeks.

A clinic scheduled for June 29 is completely booked, but openings are available for July 22 and 23 clinics.

According to Lisa Castro, territory manager, donor relations with Canadian Blood Services, with the recent opening of Phase 1 and Phase 2 in the province, hospitals are back to performing more surgeries – so blood is urgently needed.

“We’ve had to add a number of different donor events to meet those hospital demands,” said Castro. “Although we hadn’t stopped people giving blood, now we’re actively upping the number of clinics to encourage more donations.”

Blood donors will see some changes when considering blood donation. First of all, they must make an appointment to give blood.

“We’re working in compliance with the Public Health Agency of Canada, so we’re making sure we’re enabling physical distancing. That’s the main reason we can only welcome people with appointments at this time,” said Castro. “It helps minimize the number of people at the donor centres, and it allows us to complete a prescreening questionnaire before they arrive at a donor centre.”

When a blood donor arrives at a clinic, they are screened at a wellness checkpoint with a list of questions, their temperature is taken and a mask is provided. Before entering the actual clinic, donors must sanitize their hands, and as they move through the process, staff are on hand to clean and sanitize.

“Safety is our highest priority, and that’s why we have those enhanced wellness measures in effect throughout all our donor centres,” said Castro.

To book an appointment, visit blood.ca, download the GiveBlood app, or call 1-888-236-6283.