Overview

• Canadian Blood Services aims to recruit one million new donors over five years to meet a projected 10% rise in blood demand and a 50% increase in plasma needs.
• The initiative includes expanding collection centres, extending hours, and targeting remote areas to make donations more accessible and convenient.
• Outreach efforts will focus on underrepresented groups, such as African Black and Caribbean Canadians, to improve blood subtype matching for conditions like sickle cell disease.
• A new marketing campaign, 'Who’s Saving Who?', emphasizes the personal rewards of donating, such as a sense of achievement and community connection.
• The plan addresses Canada’s reliance on imported plasma by aiming to boost domestic supply for critical immunoglobulin therapies, underscoring lessons learned from pandemic-era shortages.