Canada's blood supply drops 20% as Canadian Blood Services issues urgent donation appeal ahead of August long weekend. Here's what's happening

The Canadian Blood Service has requested people across the country to donate blood, saying its supply has dropped significantly in the last several weeks. The organisation said its blood supply has dropped significantly, by almost 20 per cent, since June 1, and they are left with limited days of several blood types.

Canadians have been urged to roll up their sleeves as the country’s blood supply drops at an unusually fast pace. Though patient care has not been affected, officials told CTV News that the goal is to rebuild supplies before shortages start reaching hospitals, especially with the August long weekend approaching.

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“Typically in a week, we need about 18,000 and 19,000 appointments to keep the blood inventory in Canada stable and for about the last six weeks, we’ve been seeing a 1,500 to 2,000 appointment gap that we’ve been trying to address,” Ron Vezina, the organization’s vice president of donor engagement and corporate reputation told CTVNews.ca, adding that the drop has “eroded” overall blood supply.

“Patient care is not yet impacted. This call out to Canadians is to try to avoid that situation.”

A spokesperson for Héma-Quebec also confirmed that Canadian blood service has seen a decline in blood donations since the end of June.

People can book donation appointments at blood.ca, on the GiveBlood app or by calling 1-888-2-DONATE. In Quebec, people can book appointments through hemaquebec.ca.

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"Héma-Québec needs approximately 1,000 blood donations every day to meet the needs of patients across the province," Patrice Lavoie said in an email on Wednesday.

"Summer is traditionally a more fragile period for the blood supply. Many regular donors are on vacation or simply forget to book an appointment," he said.

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Reason behind falling blood donations in Canada

Vezina said Canadian Blood Services has examined its usual indicators, but they don't have an explanation yet. “We’re a bit perplexed,” he said “All of our performance metrics would suggest we should be in a better place.”

He said the organization has not experienced an unusual rise in donation cancellations, missed appointments or people being turned away because they do not meet eligibility requirements. Instead, the organization says its donor base has grown and is now larger than it was at the same time last year.

“The blood donor base is a bit larger than it was last time at the same period. So we actually have more Canadians to call upon. It’s just not answering the call to the degree we need to right now.”

The shortfall is also being seen nationwide rather than in one particular region.

“We’re not seeing any regional differences across the board and across blood types,” Vezina said. “There’s more going out the door than coming in, and that’s why the supply is down 20 per cent.”

Which blood types are most needed in Canada?

All blood types are needed, officials have stressed. Canadian Blood Services says donations from every blood type are essential to keeping hospitals supplied.

Vezina said O negative blood remains one of the most critical types because it can be transfused to nearly anyone during an emergency. “Only seven per cent of Canadians actually have that blood type, but it accounts for 14 per cent of what hospitals call upon,” he said.

Even so, Vezina urged Canadians not to assume their blood type is less important. “Don’t assume that we have too much of your blood or not enough of your blood. The case is that all blood types are more than welcome.”

Why the August long weekend is so important

The renewed call for donors comes ahead of the August long weekend, a period when hospitals often see greater demand for blood products.

Vezina said the holiday weekend typically brings an increase in trauma-related cases as more people travel, while the need for blood used in cancer treatments, surgeries and other routine medical care continues without interruption.

“For whatever reason, the August long weekend tends to be a higher than usual time for hospitals to pull in blood products,” Vezina said.

If blood supplies were ever to reach critically low levels, Canada's National Blood Emergency Plan would determine how hospitals prioritize the available blood.

Vezina explained that in such a situation, some non-urgent treatments could be postponed, transfusion thresholds could become stricter, and blood products would be reserved for the most urgent medical needs.

“It means that in gradual process, either treatments get delayed, or there’s certain priorities or perhaps the trigger for a transfusion is a little bit higher than it normally would,” Vezina said.

“But we see that as the last thing we ever want to see.”

An important message for Canadians

“So my message to Canadians out there … we’re saying there’s only two per cent of Canadians that are giving blood today. There’s 50 per cent that could be based on where they live, age groups, eligibility criteria,” he said.

“We invite more Canadians to experience what they get when they give.”