It’s getting easier to donate blood in Rutland.
A new blood clinic opened its doors for a day at Willow Park Church on May 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so residents in the Rutland area were given the opportunity to donate blood and potentially save a life.
“The idea behind them is to bring the clinics to areas closer in our community,” said Canadian Blood Clinic interior territory manager Gayle Voyer.
The temporary clinic will be set up with about 130 volunteers.
Church groups, the Uptown Rutland Business Association and a few other organizations have endorsed the clinic, said Voyer. Although it is unlikely Rutland will have another blood clinic for a while, she hopes it will inform residents about the permanent clinic in Kelowna.
“It’s just a matter of bringing it the community,” she said.
Blood donated from the Rutland clinic will be tested and distributed to people throughout the province.
“Most of it stays in B.C. But, if we needed more blood we could potentially get it from our partners in Calgary. That’s the beauty of a national system,” said Voyer.
If donating blood, she recommends eating a meal beforehand, bringing a friend and taking the eligibility quiz which is posted on blood.ca.
Voyer said the aim of the staff is to make the donor feel comfortable donating blood.
The Rutland clinic is the first blood clinic in that area.
For more information call Voyer at 250-979-8053 or visit blood.ca for details. You must be 17 or older to donate blood.
The Kelowna blood clinic located is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and every second Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1865 Dilworth Dr.
“At the end of the day everything you do is about the hospital patients,” said Voyer.
