Canadian Blood Services is hoping upcoming blood donor clinics in the Foothills will help them stock up.

Spring is a challenging time of year for blood services as they're currently looking to collect at least 20,000 units of blood in April and another 22,000 across the province in May.

Lisa Castro, territory manager for Canadian Blood Services, says there's a small amount of eligible people who actually donate.

"One in two Canadians is actually eligible to donate but only one in every 60 does so this means that even though half of the Canadian population is eligible to donate only 4% of that population is supporting us," she says. "We're really relying on a very small donor base so we're really encouraging more donors to step up and help us meet the demands of our hospital patients."

Castro adds they're also taking a hit due to new eligibility guidelines.

"Starting in December the donation interval for women increased to 12 weeks and beginning in March men now need a higher hemoglobin level to be eligible to donate so we're anticipating a loss of approximately 35,000 donations each year as a result of these changes so more donors are needed to help us fill that gap."

Blood donor clinics are scheduled for Apr. 20 at the Strathmore Civic Centre from 4- 8:00 p.m., Apr. 24 in High River at the Heritage Inn from 4-8 p.m., then Apr. 25 in Okotoks at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 3- 8:00 p.m.

Canadian Blood Services is looking for 150 donors at each of these clinics.

To book an appointment or learn more call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

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