Blood donations are coming back to Windsor.
The Canadian Blood Services has announced that the current plasma donor centre will begin accepting blood donations starting Nov. 24.
The plasma donor centre opened in Windsor in mid-January 2024 in the Roundhouse Centre on Howard Avenue. It replaced the Windsor blood clinic on Grand Marais Road East, which closed its doors in summer of 2023.
While there have been mobile blood donor events held throughout the region throughout the year, the Canadian Blood Services wants to see both services being conducted under one roof.
Plasma donations are used to make life-saving medicines, such as immune globulins for infections or clotting factors for bleeding disorders, or can be transfused directly to patients who have immune deficiencies or neurological diseases.
Greg Friest, Windsor's Business Development Manager for Canadian Blood Services, says the need to shift back to blood donations is becoming more prevalent.
"As our population grows and ages in Canada, it's projected that the need for blood will increase by 10 per cent over the next five years, while the demand for immune globulins, which is the medication made from plasma, could grow by 50 per cent or more, and in order to meet this we want to optimize our Windsor donor centre."
He says having both options will be great for the region.
"The donor base in Windsor has always been extremely strong. Anybody who's from here, or lives here, can speak to what Windsor is. Windsor is about giving back, and that's one of the reasons we shifted over to plasma because of the strength of that donor base, and now we want to integrate blood back in there."
He says plasma donations locally have been very successful.
"In the first year, we had 2,200 donors come in. And plasma... there's a unique aspect of it that you're able to donate more frequently because we collect just the plasma and we separate your blood, collect the plasma, return your red and white cells, so you're able to donate more often."
While plasma can be donated on a weekly basis, blood can only be donated by males every 56 days, while females can only donate blood every 84 days.
Friest says there will be one last mobile donor event on October 22 before they shift to donations from the centre itself.
Those interested in booking a time to donate can do so online, by calling 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283), or through the GiveBlood app.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with guest host Kyle Horner