Your Digest
There is an immediate need for donors
The summer months typically present a challenge for collections, however, this year they’ve steadily declined since July. Bookings and deferrals have been significantly impacted by an uptick in summer travel, fewer in-person community events, COVID-19 related illness and the smallest donor base in a decade due to the pandemic. We forecast we will fall short of our collections target by 3,000 units this upcoming week and estimate that we will need to fill 57,000 open appointments by the end of August to meet patient need. We are asking the public to support the immediate need for donors across all our channels, including targeted donor outreach via email and the GiveBlood app, as well as boosts to national and regional social media and radio advertising. You can help by asking friends and family members to donate and to spread the word on social media by using our new digital assets available on our immediate need portal.
Pause to Honouring Canada’s Lifeline regular program
The past two years have forced us to adjust our Honouring Canada’s Lifeline (HCL) program and deliver it in a new way. While we were unable to come together in person in recent past, it was important to continue to recognize some of the extraordinary people who make up Canada’s Lifeline. After careful consideration and recommendations by the HCL program leads across the country, we have decided to pause the normal regional and national HCL activities for 2022–2023 so that we can conduct a review of the program. Donors, volunteers and partners will still receive recognition for the tremendous work they’ve done — just in a more modest format for now. We hope to create a more innovative and accessible recognition program that aligns with our organizational priorities.
Q4 performance report now available
Each quarter, our strategy team pulls together a review of how we are tracking toward our key focus areas. In Q4 of 2021-2022, we saw great progress as well as several challenges. Highlights during this quarter included the publication of our Reconciliation Action Plan, the successful openings of two new plasma donor centres, a steady immunoglobulin sufficiency and a focus on product safety through the implementation of pathogen inactivation technology. Areas where we need to grow include the recruitment of new whole blood donors and increasing our plasma collections across the country. Again, the success of Canada’s Lifeline continues to be supported by the work of our dedicated employees and your constant commitment to our ICARE values. Read more on Connect.
Question of the day
How do I submit a question for next week’s town hall? And if I submit a question live, will the panellists or participants see my name?
Our next live town hall event is coming up on Thursday, August 11 (1–2 p.m. ET). Our CEO, Dr. Graham Sher, will take your questions along with guest panellists. You can submit your questions in advance by sending them to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “TOWNHALL” or submit anonymously using this form. You can also ask questions live during the town hall using the available chat box, which forwards questions anonymously unless you choose to include your name. If you choose to submit anonymously, your name will not be visible to panellists, participants or town hall organizers. Simply click the meeting link in your Outlook invitation to join live.
