You can't just help out when there has been a disaster.
Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood.

Despite Canadian Blood Services (CBS) having turned around a 10-year decline in blood donation in Canada since assuming responsibility for the blood supply on September 28, 1998, it has become increasingly obvious that the demand for blood and blood products is rising faster than Canadians are donating.

On September 28, 2001, Canadian Blood Services launched the Canadian Blood Donor Challenge, calling on eligible Canadians to become regular donors by donating at least twice a year every year.

Between September 2001 and September 2002, a little over 70,000 people became new blood donors. Of those 70,000 new blood donors, 20,000 made a second donation within the same period. It's those second donations that we really want to see. We don't consider a person a regular donor unless he/she gives blood two or more times a year.

To meet demand, we project that by the end of 2005 we will need a total of 600,000 Canadians to have become regular blood donors, donating twice a year or more every year, so we can ensure an adequate supply of blood for all Canadians.

We are confident that Canadians will meet this challenge because they have done it before. The overwhelming response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and to the Pine Lake tornado in Alberta in 2000, prove that each of us can rise to this challenge.


Dr. Graham Sher
Chief Executive Officer