Canadian Blood Services joins global campaign for blood donors
(OTTAWA) – Canadian Blood Services is uniting with blood donor organizations across 21 countries to highlight an almost 30 per cent international drop in people becoming blood donors compared to a decade ago.1
The campaign – first held in England and North Wales by NHS Blood and Transplant in 2015 – this year brings together 25 blood services from 21 countries covering one billion of the world’s population who are each calling for new donors to ensure blood donation for future generations.
“Blood type is one way we’re all connected, yet many people rarely think about it or even know what theirs is,” says Susan Matsumoto, Director, Canadian Blood Services. “As a result of the Missing Type campaign we hope more people become aware of the constant need for blood and how knowing what your blood type is could help save your life - or someone else’s.”
Throughout the campaign As, Bs and Os, the letters of the main blood groups, will disappear in everyday and iconic locations. The letters will be disappearing from famous locations in Australia, United States, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, and many more countries. Celebrities from around the world are also going to show their support.
In Canada, Missing Type kicked off at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto where the large city sign was lit in red and had the Os missing. Events will be held in cities across the country to encourage new donors to consider making an appointment.
Thanks to generous donors, every second, three people around the world receive a life changing blood transfusion.2 But many more donors are needed.
This year in Canada, about 100,000 new blood donors are needed to maintain the national blood supply and meet the needs of Canadian patients who require blood transfusions.
“Blood transfusions save lives and transform health for millions across the world,” says Matsumoto. “But they are dependent on people donating blood. Whether it is patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after crashes or during surgery, or new moms who lost blood in childbirth, blood is an absolutely essential part of modern healthcare. And right now, too many As, Bs and Os are missing in Canada. We need Canadians to come forward and register to become blood donors at missingtype.ca.”
Missing Type runs in Canada until August 28. There are many ways to be a part of Missing Type and give life. Support the campaign on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #MissingType. To learn more visit missingtype.ca.
To discover all the ways you can give life and to book an appointment, download the GiveBlood app or visit blood.ca.
1 Countries joining the Missing Type campaign who provided data to the Missing Type survey 2016:
UK: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Europe: Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands
Asia: Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore
Australia/Oceania: Australia, New Zealand
South America: Brazil
North America: Canada, USA, (United Blood Services locations does not incl. American Red Cross, Blood Centres of the Pacific, Inland Northwest or any other member centre)
Africa: South Africa
In a survey for Missing Type in April 2016, participating blood services reported the number of people becoming donors and giving blood for the first time was 1,830,003 in 2005 and 1,324,980 in 2015 – a drop of 27.6% in 2015 compared to 2005. Not all services were able to provide full responses.
Countries joining the Missing Type campaign but which did not provide date for the global insights survey: Hong Kong, Lithuania, Nepal
In 2015 the 25 blood services joining in the Missing Type campaign provided 14.7 million units of blood to treat patients thanks to the generosity of 8.16 million blood donors – 1.3 million were first time donors.
2 85,000,000 Red Cell Transfusions a year (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22751760)