(file photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Angie Rolheiser

Blood donor clinic

Melfort hosting blood donor clinic, COVID-19 protocols in place

Jul 23, 2020 | 12:43 PM

An upcoming blood donor clinic in Melfort will goes as planned but will look a little different than usual.

Canadian Blood Services will set up at the Kerry Vickar Centre from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday.

Associate Director of Donor Relations for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Jennifer Dareichuk said some clinic procedures have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Masks are mandatory for donors, our staff, and volunteers,” Dariechuk said. “We also have a wellness check point at the entry of the event where we ask a series of questions and take temperatures.”

Physical distancing measures will also be in place with beds being spaced further apart and only donors who have booked in advance will be allowed entry.

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Donors are asked to book an appointment at blood.ca.

Enhanced cleaning and plexiglass barriers will be up in certain areas of the donor centre as well.

“It is a variety of changes but they are all made to ensure the health and safety of the donors, staff, volunteers, and patients who need blood,” Dariechuk said.

Over the past few weeks, blood services have experienced an increase in demand.

“Health care facilities are starting to get their surgeries and procedures return back to the levels that we saw before the pandemic so as those procedures are increasing the demand for blood increases along with that,” Dariechuk said.

In order to keep up with that demand, all available appointments will need to be filled.

The Melfort clinic will accommodate 125 blood donations and there are just a few appointments left to be filled.

“We do tend to see some people cancelling before the event for a variety of reasons so if anyone is interested in attending, some may come open the closer we get to the event,” Dariechuk said.

All blood types are needed at this time but O negative is always essential being the universal donor.

“We need to ensure our hospitals have O negative in stock for emergencies at all times,” Dariechuk said. “Our inventory is healthy at this time but it is important to keep it coming in so it stays healthy.”

Along with booking online, the GiveBlood mobile app can be used to book an appointment as well as calling 1-888-2-donate.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser