With another long weekend coming up, Canadian Blood Services is in desperate need for donors. 

The Territory Manager for Red Deer and Central Alberta, Shamus Neeson, says that Summer is a busy time for their organization. 

“We do find that the summer definitely changes people's donation patterns. A lot of people go on holidays over the summer and unfortunately, we find that that's one of the times of the year that we have the most need.” 

Recent patterns in the way people donate has changed in Canada. Neeson says that holds true for Central Alberta as well.  

“Even now the amount of people that usually come in to donate blood has definitely dipped down nationally. You look at about 4% of the population donates blood, but now we're sitting at about 2%.  

So that's why we're encouraging people that live in Red Deer and the surrounding area to come and see us, especially this long weekend.  We still have 100 appointments that need to be filled between Friday and Saturday.” 

Neeson says there is a positive way to look at things for our area. 

“When you look at the population of Red Deer, if we 50% of our people donate just once in a calendar year, we would never have to go through an immediate need like we are right now.” 

If you would like to book an appointment, head to blood.ca or call 1-888-2-donate