It was a busy year at the Lethbridge Plasma Centre, with 8,500 units of plasma collected.
To break that down, one donor counts as one unit of plasma, meaning that 8,500 community members donated plasma in 2023.
According to Brenna Scott, Business Development Manager at the Lethbridge Plasma Centre, since the opening of the centre three years ago, over 35,000 units of plasma have been collected.
When it comes to improvements for 2024, Scott says that the goal is to be more prepared for summer months, as there are holidays, nice weather, it’s hard to get people in.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is do more awareness events in the summer to make sure that we are top of mind for people all summer,” says Scott who mentions that the centre added a summer student this year who would go to various events. It worked so well the centre hired two winter students to help bring in more donors in the new year.
Some highs that stand out this year for Scott include the updated eligibility criteria for the human variant of Mad Cow Disease. This is based of decades of research and surveillance of people who lived or spent time in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, or France during the outbreaks. These people are now able to donate blood, plasma, and platelets. Scott says that since 2003, approximately 70,000 people in Canada were turned away because of this.
Another high for Scott is the Annual Sirens for Life Competition which runs in February. This is a friendly competition between first responders in the area and residents can support it by looking for a team to join and donate.
Some lows for the year include the awareness piece as the centre opened in the midst of COVID. Scott mentions how there is still work to be done regarding educating the public and making sure they understand what plasma is before they come in to donate.
“I know that there’s always a little bit of anxiety around trying something new, so we are really trying to get out in the community as much as we can to answer those questions and get those people to hopefully become a donor,” says Scott.
To donate plasma, you can book an appointment by going right into the Plasma Centre on Mayor McGrath Drive South, on the website, the give blood app, or calling 1-888-2DONATE. Before going to your appointment, make sure you are hydrated and eat a salty snack. The process is a bit longer for a first donation, so Scott recommends setting aside around 90 minutes to be in the centre. Since the body can regenerate plasma quickly, people are able to donate every seven days.
“We always expect that blood and plasma will be around when we need it, but we also need people to step up and be the ones donating it,” says Scott.
The plasma centre has a monthly goal of getting 200 new donors.