Jhoanna Del Rosario braces for summer.
Rosario, a territorial manager at Canadian Blood Services, worries for the same reasons why most yearn for the season: looser schedules and weeks-long escapes from Calgary.
Because as people lose themselves in their summer plans, whether relishing Stampede’s offerings or slipping away from their city into the wilderness, patients across the city and the country who need blood often desperately are left to borrow from a dryer pool.
However, this year’s blood supply is worse than many summers Rosario has seen in the 13 years she has worked for the organization.
Rosario explained the city’s main blood bank at the Eau Claire Market, the largest in Canada, needs donations from at least 4,400 people a week to keep its taps flowing to the region’s hospitals.
But the centre still needed 538 appointments to meet its monthly goals as of July 21. According to its website, the Canadian Blood Services has four days or fewer worth of supply for blood groups — A+, B-, O+ and O- — which should usually sit between five and eight days.
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