Alberta residents are being encouraged to take a seat and roll up a sleeve. Canadian Blood Services needs 200 thousand units of blood donated by July 1st. According to the Director of Donor Relations for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories Susan Matsumoto, the organization struggles to find donors for the summer months.
“We do find that summer is a challenging time of year to keep up with demand, and that’s because people get busy; they’re on vacation, they travel, and as a result of that it’s not always on their mind to make an appointment to donate blood.”
There hasn’t been a mobile blood clinic making regular trips to Grande Prairie since 2011. However, residents are encouraged to book appointments when they travel to bigger centres.