Our Blood Counts, a non-profit based in northern B.C. has launched a petition asking the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) to install a blood plasma donation facility in northern B.C.
The petition has nearly 1,000 people respondents two of the organizations' members, Mark Karjaluoto and Kelli Smith, think that's a strong showing for a petition that's only been active for a week.
"We're at 976 responses so far in support of a plasma centre," Karjaluoto said. "Ninety-two per cent said they would be either very likely or somewhat likely to donate." Karjaluoto said once they hit 1,000 names they'll submit it to CBS but still keep the petition active an open.
They said Prince George makes sense for a plasma donor location because CBS announced a location in Thunder Bay, Ont.
"(Thunder Bay) is the better part of a day away from Winnipeg, it's quite some distance from Toronto, it's a northern community much like Prince George," Karjaluoto said. "It's serving other rural communities around it that see it as an economic and service centre."
Karjaluoto said the ability to freeze and ship plasma makes it a more viable form of donation for northern communities. He said if CBS can figure out how to make it work in Thunder Bay, they would be able to make it work in Prince George.
The CBS website says plasma is vital for both blood transfusions and for making medicines. One of the most common medications made from plasma are immune globulins which are used to treat bleeding disorders, trauma and burn injuries. Transfusions can be used to help control a person's bleeding during surgeries, says the CBS website.
When someone donates blood at a plasma centre, the blood is taken out, separated from the plasma and pumped back into the person. Other components of whole blood donations are harder to transport than plasma because they have a shorter shelf-life.
"Now probably more than ever, if we're looking at the need for vital medication that would come from plasma there needs to be that domestic supply," Karjaluoto said. "We want to be part of the solution because we think the north can help."
Smith works at Costco in Prince George and said Prince George is a massive hub for the north. She said because the city is a hub for both economic needs as well as medical services, people are constantly going through the city and it would give CBS a larger pool of potential donors than just residents of Prince George.
"We have people come all the way from Alaska to use our Costco," she said. "The argument about us not having a high enough population, we're not talking about just Prince George."
The only plasma donation centres in B.C. are located in Kelowna and Abbotsford. The petition says Canada imports 80 per cent of plasma it needs. The donation centre in Prince George where people could donate whole blood, including plasma, closed in 2015.
CBS provided the Observer with an emailed statement saying that Prince George is not a viable location for a plasma donation centre based on census data from the city and its neighbouring communities.
The statement added that those in the region who wish to donate can register to donate stem cells, organs and tissues. It added that CBS accepts financial donations as well.
"I used to donate when I was in high school. The clinic was just across the highway from my school so I would go on my lunch break and donate," Smith said. "Both my mother and my boyfriend have had to receive blood so it's really made an impact on my life and it really sucks we can't donate anywhere (near) here."
They said even people who aren't eligible to donate for medical reasons can still sign and share the petition to spread the word and boost their shot at getting a donor centre. The petition can be found at ourbloodcounts.com