Donate blood, save lives.”

Canadian Blood Services is a national organization that accepts blood, stem cell, plasma, organ and tissue donations. Since 1998, they’ve been working as a non-profit charitable organization separate from the Canadian Government. They provide services on behalf of the provincial government in all provinces except Quebec, and are largely funded by provincial and territorial governments as well as charitable donations.

In 2017, their permanent donor site in Brandon closed due to insufficient donations, reaching 75-80% of their goals where they hoped to meet close to 100%. This also resulted in shutting down mobile donor sites to nearby towns that operated out of Brandon. That makes Winnipeg the only place where Canadian Blood Services operates a permanent blood donation site (CBC News, 2017).

Blood donation is essential for multiple reasons. It’s necessary in cancer treatment, medical complications, surgeries and trauma incidents, chronic illnesses and more. Canada currently experiences a nationwide shortage on blood donations, with the Canadian Blood Services organization tracking the current supply for different blood types on their site. At present, A-, B-, O+ and O- are at under a week’s supply.

The organization has continued to operate a mobile donor site since then, coming to Brandon every other Thursday and usually setting up at either the Victoria Inn or the Keystone Center. For those interested in volunteering, www.blood.ca provides more information on future mobiles, booking an appointment and an eligibility quiz for those interested in donating.

The mobile will be coming to Brandon in the next month at: October 3, 2-8 pm at the Brandon Victoria inn, imperial ballroom

October 17, 2-8 pm at the Brandon Victoria inn, imperial ballroom October 31, 2-8 pm at the Brandon Victoria inn, imperial ballroom