Changes coming to blood donor clinics

Details

Published on Wednesday, June 29, 2016

By Kira Paterson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

Neepawa is going to be the first community in the Westman area to experience the modernized blood donor clinic from Canadian Blood Services. As of July 1, the mobile clinics will be making some changes to make donor experiences more efficient and convenient. The clinic will be coming to the Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa on July 5.

The first change is touchscreen kiosks at the clinics, where donors can input their information and complete the donor questionnaire. This eliminates the need for paper filing, as all the information will be stored electronically. 

To make things even faster, there is also the option to complete the donor questionnaire online before going to the clinic. Once a donor books an appointment online, they can fill out their questionnaire and print it out with a pass that will allow them to go straight to screening at the clinic. 

The other convenience now offered for donors is an email reminder. When a donor books an appointment in their name and includes their email address, they will receive a reminder on the day of their appointment to complete the donor questionnaire online, print it and bring it to the clinic. 

The changeover can go much smoother with the help of the community. “Donors in Neepawa can help with the changeover by booking appointments to fill the blood donor clinic on July 5,” said Darrin Desmedt, territory manager of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services. “We would like to have as many units as possible in inventory as donors acclimate to the new system. The clinic is 96 per cent booked, so we are asking donors to honour their appointments to ensure we meet our donation goal of 58 units of blood.”