Blood drive far exceeds quota

After falling short of its quota for several years, the two-day Canadian Blood Services blood donor clinic here which wrapped up Thursday night was the most successful in a while.
“We got 166 donations on Wednesday and 262 yesterday [Thursday]. That’s a total of 428,” noted Marnee Miller of the La Verendrye General Hospital Auxiliary, adding their two-day quota was 358.
“We haven’t had numbers like that in I don’t know how long,” she enthused Friday morning. “It makes you feel good to beat that quota.”
Miller said she couldn’t fully explain the turnaround in donor numbers, but stressed a well-publicized challenge between local banks—as well as the extensive coverage in the media—surely helped boost the numbers this time around.
Also excited about this was Brad Bulbuck, manager of business banking at the RBC Royal Bank here.
“It was the most successful clinic ever in Fort Frances, according to Canadian Blood Services,” he remarked Friday morning.
He added while Fort Frances saw six fewer donors than Dryden (428 versus 434), the blood drive here actually saw one more pint of blood donated (356 units here compared to 355 for Dryden).
Bulbuck noted the challenge between local banks, dubbed the “Blood Bank Battle,” was highly successful. RBC came in first, while the Northern Lights Credit Union got the second-most donations.
The CIBC and TD Canada Trust tied for third.
He said he didn’t want to give out exactly how many donations each bank got, but added that together, they really helped boost the total. He’d also like to see the “Blood Bank Battle” happen again—if not at the second clinic this fall, then the one next spring.
This was the first “Bank Blood Battle” in Fort Frances. It is based on a highly-successful program in Brandon, Man. now in its third year, with seven financial institutions participating there.
Winnipeg’s financial institutions recently launched a month-long version of the challenge.
RBC staff also barbecued hotdogs at the blood donor clinic, which was held at Fort Frances High School. The wieners were provided by Einar’s, the buns by Dough and Deli, and the condiments by the 364 Store and The Place.
Bulbuck not only wanted to thank the sponsors, but the blood clinic staff and other volunteers who worked at the two-day donor clinic, as well as the public for their patience (some had to wait some time to give blood due to all the bookings).
Exceeding the donor quota marks a positive break in a trend that has seen the blood drive generally falling short of its quota for the past few years, with only rare exceptions.
Last fall, it fell 32 donations short of the quota while the spring, 2003 clinic needed 50 more donors to meet its goal.
In the fall of 2002, the blood drive here missed its quota by 112 donations.
A fall blood drive clinic here is slated for Sept. 22-23. Those interested in making an appointment to give blood then can call 1-800-2-DONATE.