By Adam Berls

blood services

‘Our Blood Counts’ project aims to bring blood donor centre back to Northern B.C.

Jun 14, 2024 | 2:21 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — This past week was National Blood Donor Week and Canada collects less than 20% of the plasma that patients need from domestic donors. That’s why a local advocacy group is issuing a call to bring blood donation back to Northern B.C.

“We’re calling for the plasma donor centre in the north because we want to help our family members, friends, and all Canadians with life-saving gifts. We’re grateful for the people who’ve stepped forward and want to contribute at a future Northern B.C. centre,” said Mark Karjaluoto, a Prince George resident and blood donor whose past partnership with Canadian Blood Services provided more than 2,500 units of blood for patient care.

Our Blood Counts has started a petition which is calling on “Canadian Blood Services to open a new blood plasma donor centre in Prince George to serve the northern two-thirds of the province.” The objectives are to encourage residents to get involved in addressing a national need as well as showing the regions commitment to life-saving blood products for all Canadians. As of Friday morning, 515 people have signed the petition.

According to Our Blood Counts:

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“Plasma makes up more than half of a person’s blood. Plasma carries water, salts and enzymes. But it also has antibodies, clotting factors, and proteins. These can be concentrated into medications for patients with a range of medical emergencies. Plasma donations involve specialized equipment to extract plasma from a donor’s blood and return red blood cells and platelets to the donor. The extracted plasma is frozen and sent to a manufacturer to be turned into immunoglobulins. These specialized mediations support care for patients with kidney and liver diseases, cancer, and/or immune deficiencies and rare blood disorders.”

Prince George hosted a Canadian Blood Services whole blood donor centre from 1998 until 2015.

In the past five years, Canadian Blood Services has opened or planned to add a dozen new plasma centres across the country, but Prince George has yet to see any plans in the works.

To sign the petition, you can visit ourbloodcounts.com.

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com