Despite a recent spike in appointment cancellations across the country, a blood donor clinic in Sarnia Saturday is almost fully booked.
Canadian Blood Services (CBS) said Monday that it's "concerned by a recent spike in appointment cancellations in several cities related to the COVID-19 pandemic."
CBS Territory Manager Stephanie Wilkinson, however, said the response to this weekend's clinic at Temple Baptist Church on Quinn Drive has been good.
"So it is currently pretty much fully booked-up. What I would say to folks is if you do have a spot signed up that you honour it to the best of your ability, or if you know that you're not able to come, if you could reach out to us just to cancel your spot so that we can offer it up to another donor, that would be really appreciated."
Wilkinson said that donations are currently being accepted by appointment only and that they're not accepting walk-ins due to COVID-19.
She said for those unable to donate Saturday, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so in the coming months.
"This is a marathon for us, not a sprint. We're going to need donors in the weeks and months to come. There are regular donation events every month in Sarnia, so whether it's tomorrow or into April and even May, we will need people on the long-term."
Wilkinson said CBS's inventory is currently strong, but the recent increase in cancellations is worrying, particularly in light of the blood shortages already being reported in other countries affected by COVID-19.
Wilkinson said it's been a roller coaster of a week for CBS.
"At the beginning of the week we certainly saw some events have to be cancelled as venues across the province were shutting their doors to the public. But as the week's gone on we've been able to salvage a few and we've been really overwhelmed with the wonderful support from the Canadian public in general, just reaching out and looking at blood donation as a way to help out in their communities. So it's been really phenomenal to see and we're really thankful for those that have stepped up."
Wilkinson said CBS has also implemented a number of measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"There's wellness checkpoints now, we are implementing some social distancing measures within the events themselves. We are, at this point, unable to accept walk-ins and are encouraging everyone to book an appointment in advance because that's one of the only ways we can work to ensure there is never more than 50 people at an event at a given time."