With the long weekend coming up, Canadian Blood Services is inviting people to donate blood before going out to the lake.
"The need for blood really rises in the summer, especially right now," says Brett Lawrence, the Community Development Manager with Canadian Blood Services. "We're calling for O-negative donors to come out. The special thing about O-negative blood is it can be given to any other blood type. It's also called the universal donor."
People can book an appointment ahead of time at their 777 William location or just walk in Wednesday to Saturday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., Mondays and Tuesdays; they're open from 12:30-7:30 p.m.
"More people are out on the road, and there can be an increase in car accidents, but more emergency situations can happen during the summertime because more and more people are out and about."
Lawrence says that as people are busy with summer activities, which could result in more blood being needed, fewer people give blood during the summer.
"People are interested in going to the lake or seeing friends and family. This is great, but we do call out to folks, maybe before you do those things, come out to donate blood."
For people who've never donated their blood, the entire process takes roughly one hour. There are questions asked, blood pressure taken, and then people donate blood, and have a snack before they go to boost their blood sugar levels.
"When you donate blood, you're obviously helping a patient. However, you can talk to many blood donors who have been doing it for a long time; they know they're helping someone at the end of it, and they get so much out of donating blood because of that. It feels good to donate and to help people."
Canadian Blood Services is hoping people come and donate blood before the long weekend, when the need for blood could go up. Located right across from the Health Science Centre, they offer free parking to donors.