Summer of climate disasters is drying up Canadian Blood Service’s donation supply

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The wildfires raging across British Columbia and Northwest Territories have pinched Canada’s blood supply, prompting a flood of cancellations — 300 of them in Kelowna, B.C. — amid the typical no-shows during the summer months.

Now, other provinces, including Alberta, have been called upon to fill gaps in a waning blood inventory, a lack of which could threaten the lives of patients suffering from complications during pregnancy, children with severe anemia, accident victims, people undergoing surgery and cancer treatments, and those with kidney and liver diseases.

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The problem facing blood donations in B.C. and N.W.T is not unique.

“Between heat waves and forest fires, torrential rains and flash floods, communities are strained, as people cope with the emergencies in front of them,” Ron Vezina, vice-president of public affairs at Canadian Blood Services, said in a statement.

Several spots have opened up in Calgary’s blood donation centres, the largest of which is in the Eau Claire Market. Shamus Neeson, territory manager at the organization, said centres in Calgary have 312 open appointments between now and Labour Day.

“Our hearts definitely go out to those communities that have been impacted by the events that have been going on all summer long,” said Neeson, adding that cancellations, however, mean that blood “needs to come from somewhere.”

But loyal donors in Calgary are often away at this time of year, Neeson said, citing the double whammy that has hit Canadian Blood Services, which sees a cancellation rate of 10 to 20 per cent.

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“Long weekends are always tough for Canadian Blood Services. People are making appointments, which is great, but they’re not always able to honour those appointments,” he said.

“When you look at the total amount for the entire province of Alberta, we’re sitting at just shy of 1,000 that need to be filled for Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer.”

For Canada, that number rises to 10,000. On average, every 60 seconds someone in Canada requires blood, according to Canadian Blood Services.

Donated blood can only be stored for up to 42 days, leaving centres in constant need of what is commonly referred to as “the gift of life.”

Calgary’s blood centres, which need at least 4,300 people a month to keep its taps flowing to the region’s hospitals, were short 538 appointments on July 21 to meet its monthly goals. And the race to fill those gaps continues.

Fires, spurred on by climate change, have wreaked havoc in Western Canada, gobbling up vast swaths of lands, charring hundreds of homes and sending scores of residents in B.C. and N.W.T to seek temporary refuge in Calgary and its surrounding regions.

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“We’re asking everyone who can to please donate blood or plasma and to help spread the word, by inviting others to join them in donating,” Vezina said.

Finding the right candidates is also a challenge, since those who are pregnant, below 17, lighter than 50 kilograms, have been inked with tattoos in the past three months, take certain prescription medications, or have travelled to a country outside Europe, the U.S. or Antarctica in the past three weeks may not be eligible to donate blood.

Neeson said these requirements are meant to keep the recipients safe, especially following a major scandal in the 90s when patients were given blood infected with HIV and Hepatitis-C.

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