When a serious car accident takes place anywhere in Canada, we call 911 and that call gets dispatched to police and EMS paramedics, fire and rescue to the scene.
But once the victim(s) are transported to the hospital, we don't often think about what takes place after that unless it is a loved one who is involved.
The Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is continuing their 450 Challenge to recruit 450 new blood donors every day. The initiative started in December, but they're continuing this recruitment campaign throughout the winter months, because the need is that great.
Car accident victims might need up to 50 units of blood
That means fifty different people need to donate for that one person to survive. If someone is undergoing leukemia treatment, that patient could need up to 8 units of blood each week, which means eight people need to give blood. And four people need to donate blood for just one person undergoing heart surgery.
And it's important to note, the demand for blood and plasma is rising. There has been an increase in surgeries and treatments that require blood products because the population is aging and growing, and many of our regular donors are aging out.
Community Development Manager for Canadian Blood Services, Brett Lawrence, encourages more Canadians to become life-giving partners by becoming a regular blood donor. And if you're not sure what blood type you are, visit a donation site and get tested and give blood at the same time for free.
450 Challenge aims to meet demand for blood
Lawrence says to meet the needs of patients; they need 450 new donors to join Canada’s Lifeline every day this winter – this to double the average number of new donors in Canada.
"Right now, we've been seeing the demand for blood is going up, which we haven't seen over the last few years rising the way it has," he explains. "The problem is we're not seeing the number of donors come out to meet that demand, and to continue that demand in the future. So, our answer to that was the 450 Challenge and the idea with that is we need 450 new donors a day to come into a donor centre in Canada."
"Currently we only get approximately 230 new donors a day across Canada," adds Lawrence, "so this challenge is trying to double that to meet the demands for donors."
Since December, CBS has been able to reach this target almost every day but they're still needing more to join the Partners for Life list champions to keep the momentum going as the need for blood increases.
For more on the 450 Challenge visit the website link HERE and become a new donor today.