Canadian Blood Services is issuing an urgent call for blood donations after a slowdown due to winter storms and the holiday season.
Weather has forced the closure of several clinics across Canada and has led to a noticeable decline in appointments. The organization estimates more than 2,000 donations have been lost this December.
"The big difference for us that we have seen this year is impact on blood donor clinics across the country," says Mark Donnson, VP of Donor Relations with Canadian Blood Services. "Usually what we would see is a province or city being affected by bad weather but we have really seen a constant and consistent effect."
To reach its national quota, Canadian Blood Services needs to fill 9,000 appointments within the next few days, including about 2,200 in the capital region.
"Around the holiday season people are busy. They have family commitments, they do last minute shopping and we see a decline in the number of people coming out to clinics," says Mary Anne St. Michael with CBS. "It's not at the top of their mind."
Empty beds are becoming increasingly common lately at blood clinics in Ottawa and across the country. At Ottawa City Hall Tuesday, CBS was hoping to gather about 86 units of blood, but just over 30 donors showed up to the clinic.
Warren Tkachuck was one of the few donors who attended. He donates blood twice a year in honour of his grandfather, an avid and longtime donor.
"Tomorrow is when he passed, so I try to do it once over the holiday season and then again in the Spring when he was born," he says.
"It's a community issue. Tomorrow I might need blood, or my children."
Karen Kiley donates for a similar reason.
"You feel good about yourself after that you are doing something and I think it's important to do something that we can all help each other," she says.
You can book an appointment by visiting the CBS website or by calling them at 1-888-2-DONATE.
CTV Ottawa