More than 4,000 donation appointments cancelled amid winter storms: Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is calling for more donations after recent storms caused several appointment cancellations.

Canadian Blood Services is putting out a call for blood donations as the recent winter weather has prompted thousands of Maritimers to cancel their appointments.

The non-profit charitable organization says almost 4,400 appointments have been cancelled across the Maritimes in the past three weeks.

The region has seen a significant amount of snow and ice in recent weeks, which the organization believes is a significant factor behind the cancellations.

Hundreds of donor appointments have also been cancelled in other parts of the country due to wintry weather.

Canadian Blood Services says the cancellations can make it challenging to keep the supply of blood products at optimal levels.

“We do need approximately 5,700 blood donors in the Maritimes to fill appointments between now and the end of March,” said spokesperson Renee Horton in an email to CTV News.

The organization is encouraging new and returning donors to “take a break from shoveling and lend their arm to donate blood or plasma instead.”

“The need is really dire,” says Adrian White, a community development manager for Canadian Blood Services in Saint John, N.B. “We’re putting out a very large ask to Atlantic Canadians today to come in and see us and book a blood appointment.

“If donors deem that the weather is not great enough for them to make it to their appointment, we’re asking donors to please give us a call as soon as they can so we can reschedule that appointment, and make sure if we can, get another donor into that slot to make sure we’re collecting the levels we need to collect.”

Eligible donors are being asked to book at their earliest convenience, and even consider inviting a new donor to join.

Appointments can be booked online at blood.ca, by using the GiveBlood app or calling 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283).