It’s currently National Blood Donor Week – a time to raise awareness about the need for new contributors to the country’s supply. But it’s also a time to celebrate the 400,000 people nationwide who already help keep it stocked. Krysta Hanakowski, a community development manager for Canadian Blood Services, says while that number may seem high it’s only a small fraction of the population. “So two per cent of our population is giving enough blood to support all of our hospitals in Canada right now,” she told Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett. Hanakowski says the need for blood and plasma is still high and only continues to grow. “And there’s only so much we can ask of those 400,000 that are already coming in,” she says. “So National Blood Donor Week is a perfect time to celebrate those, thank our donors. It’s a celebration, but it’s also an invitation. It’s an invitation to people who maybe haven’t been in in a while, or folks who have never been in before, to come on out and try and experience what you get when you give for the first time.” Men can donate blood every 56 days while women can every 84 days. Donation appointments take about an hour, but only five-to-10 minutes are actually spent with a needle in the arm. “I’d say probably that poke of the needle is the most unpleasant part, but the rest of it is going be a breeze and most of our donors leave feeling a sense of pride, a sense of community and a sense that they’ve done something good,” says Hanakowski. “You come, we give you snacks before and after, you come sit in a comfy chair, put your feet up for a while and don’t worry about anything.” And those who donate end up helping more than just one patient. “When I say blood and blood products, there’s also plasma and platelets in there, so when your unit of blood goes to the lab they separate it out and it goes to help three different patients in three different places,” Hanakowski says. Canadian Blood Services, which runs the national blood inventory, is looking for O-positive blood, especially right now. “Currently, we’re asking anybody who has an O-positive blood type to make a blood donation to come in as soon as possible. Ideally, we have about two weeks on hand of any given blood type. Right now, there’s only four days on hand for the country of O-positive,” says Hanakowski. O-positive blood is the most common blood type in Canada. “Chances are you or somebody you know is O-positive, so if you know you are, please make a donation appointment as soon as possible. And if you are unsure the best way to find out is to come make a blood donation.” While people can walk in for a blood donation appointment, it’s recommended an appointment be made online beforehand.
