Hospital patients need your help. The supply of blood is so low right now; hospitals are being forced to ration supply. In the last two months the national blood inventory has dropped by more than 40 per cent. On Tuesday, it had dropped to two days on hand for the most common blood types.
While patients' needs for emergencies are being met, the reduced availability of blood is challenging some hospitals' ability to serve the needs of elective or routine patients. Hospitals may have to resort to delays in treatment or postponement of elective surgery if the situation does not reverse itself soon.
Canadian Blood Services has increased its recruitment efforts but demand is still outpacing supply. This means Canadian Blood Services has drawn down on its inventory and rationed its blood shipments to hospitals.
"It may surprise Canadians to know that even in good times, we only carry four to six days' supply of blood to meet the entire country's needs," says Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services. "Right now, for the most critical blood types, we are hovering around a two-day supply. This puts the blood system, and Canadians who depend on it, in a vulnerable position. Simply put, we need more donors now."
It is estimated that about one in two Canadians can give blood. However this year, only one in 60 actually has.
In the last three fiscal years, the need for blood for hospital patients has gone up by more than 3 per cent - climbing to nearly 850,000 units of blood needed per year.
In an effort to increase donations from new and existing donors, Canadian Blood Services is calling on all eligible Canadians to make an appointment to donate blood.
The greatest need for donors is at the Canadian Blood Services 40 permanent locations across the country. Information about clinic location and hours can be found at blood.ca, or by calling 1 888 2 DONATE.
