Canadian Blood Services is reassuring the public that blood donated by those who have had COVID-19 or who have received the vaccine is safe.
Chantale Pambrun, a spokeswoman for the blood agency, says since COVID19 is a respiratory virus there's no danger of it being transmitted through blood.
More than 955-thousand people have been infected in Canada in the past year and the long-term effects are still mostly unknown.
Canadian Blood Services has added some questions to its pre-screenings about whether a potential donor has been exposed to COVID-19 in the past two weeks or contracted the novel coronavirus in the past 28 days.
Pambrun says the blood supply has remained constant since the pandemic began and there appears to be an increase in new donors.
Roughly 17-thousand units are needed each week to meet demand.
