Canadian Blood Services cuts blood donor clinics across the north

Canadian Blood Services hosted its final blood donor event in Sault Ste. Marie Jan.15, signalling an end to the way blood collection is carried out in northeastern Ontario. 

The organization has confirmed that a total of 11 towns and cities in northeastern Ontario have shuttered its blood donor events, including: 

• Elliot Lake
• Timmins
• Sturgeon Falls
• Espanola
• Blind River
• North Bay
• Kirkland Lake
• New Liskeard
• Laurentian University
• Sudbury

“Canadian Blood Services will be opening a proof-of-concept plasma donor centre in Sudbury. We will not be operating mobile donor events after Jan. 31,” a media spokesperson for Canadian Blood Services told SooToday via email. “The new plasma donor centre in Sudbury will offer longer, more flexible hours of operation to accommodate donors who may come in to Sudbury on weekends or evenings.” 

“The equipment used to collect plasma is not as transportable as that for blood donations and therefore, mobiles will not be possible.”

The organization says that despite the closures, it’s taking steps to increase the amount of plasma collected in Canada in order to meet the rising demand for patients. 

“We chose Sudbury as a location for our plasma donor centre because it meets several donor-specific, population, accessibility, and operational criteria,” said Canadian Blood Services. “It provides the best possible conditions for the collection of voluntary plasma donation.” 

Canadian Blood Service says the change in service will not have an impact upon the availability of blood products for hospitals and patients. 

“We operate a national inventory which ensures the quality and safety of our products and services while working efficiently to help hospitals get the right treatment to patients where and when they need them,” the organization said.