Canadian Blood Services looks to fill 400 donor slots in Halifax and Moncton this long weekend

Urgent need for blood donations in the Maritimes There is an urgent for blood and plasma donations in the Maritimes.

Canadian Blood Services is making an urgent appeal for eligible donors to fill open appointment slots this long weekend.

Krysta Hanakowski, a community development manager with Canadian Blood Services, says about 400 appointment slots are unfilled at collection centres in Halifax and Moncton this long weekend.

“And then if you look beyond the long weekend there’s about 4,000 total appointments across the Maritimes that need to be filled, just in the month of August,” says Hanakowski.

Donor centres in Saint John and Charlottetown will be closed over the long weekend.

Eligible donors with group O-negative, O-positive, or B-negative are being asked to donate “as soon as they can.”

As of Wednesday, there is a four day national inventory for B-negative, O-positive, and O-positive blood types.

“The demand for blood is rising very quickly, and it’s higher now than it has been in the past 10 years,” says Hanakowski. “That’s because we’ve seen an increase (in demand) from the hospitals.”

“There’s been an increase in the amount of surgeries and treatments requiring blood transfusions.”

Hanawkowski says the demand from hospitals, combined with a typical summer slump in donations, is prompting the public appeal.