Canadian Blood Services has opened its new plasma donor centre in Windsor.
The centre opened Wednesday morning in the Roundhouse Centre near Toys R Us on Howard Avenue.
It replaces the Windsor blood clinic on Grand Marais Road East, which closed its doors last summer.
Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, Canadian Blood Services Associate Director of Sales Development Judy Jones says donated plasma from Windsor will help support Canadian patients across the country.
"We only just take plasma and we give you back all the other components within your blood and therefore actually plasma can regenerate within days and so you can actually come in to donate once a week," says Jones. "We don't ask you to do that but we do know it's an opportunity for people to come in and help support more patients."
She says donated plasma can be used in two ways.
"It can be used for transfusion for patients that need it for burns, treatments, those type of things," she says. "The plasma we're collecting in Windsor will be treated, it will be fractionated and made into plasma protein products which is a medicine, a patient's need that have immune deficiencies or neurological diseases."
The new Canadian Blood Services plasma clinic on Howard Avenue in Windsor. (Source: Canadian Blood Services)
Jones says donating plasma is a 'really interesting process.'
"It's about 10 minutes longer than a whole blood donation and once you've done that you'll be able to come back," says Jones. "We have a number of donors that come every week, come every month because we're open six days a week people can put it in their schedule that works best for them and it's really a convenient opportunity for people."
In November 2022, officials with Canadian Blood Services said plasma donated in Windsor will be made into lifesaving medications and they will also continue to hold events for O-negative and rare blood donors adding that local health centres will continue to receive blood from donors.
Plasma is the straw-coloured liquid in blood that helps other blood components circulate throughout the body.
There are now nine plasma donor centres in Canada.
Jones says if you're interested in donating you can visit blood.ca or download the Give Blood app.
She says you can also call 1-888-2-donate.