Canadian Blood Services is asking the community for help during the holiday season.
The organization's website states, due to statutory holidays, many days to collect blood in December are lost.
In Ontario there are 5,600 open appointments available between now and January 15.
Marisa Gatfield is the Territory Manager of Canadian Blood Services in Windsor and Essex County.
She says the holiday season is usually a tough time to get donations because people are busy spending time with their families and with the pandemic, donating blood is not top of mind.
"If you have the time, please take the time to book that appointment and donate blood," she says. "We are accepting donors by appointment, this is one of our COVID protocols in place in order to maintain physical distancing within our centres."
Gatfield says they are considered an essential service, so regardless of lockdowns and stat holidays they are always open to accept blood.
"Patients need blood and blood products everyday so we really count on the generosity of donors to book that appointment, come into our centres and give that gift of life," says Gatfield.
She says platelets have a shelf life of only seven days and is part of the reason why the demand is high.
"One of the common uses for platelets is to treat cancer patients or people with bleeding disorders and it can take up 5 whole blood donations to receive the same number of platelets as a single platelets donation," she says.
Those who would like to donate blood can do so at the Canadian Blood Services location on Grand Marais Rd E.
For more information or to book an appointment visit blood.ca, use the GiveBlood app or you can call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).