Bill Hildreth is used to giving blood, but his 25th donation comes with a change in location.
“When I went in this morning after the gym I was like, geez that's strange they're usually set up by now,” says Hildreth.
The Canadian Blood Services “Bloodmobile” wasn’t set up outside his work, Monday morning. Instead it’s in the possession of an insurance company after being gutted by fire on Saturday morning.
Ottawa Fire Services suspects an electrical failure as the cause.
The loss of the Bloodmobile couldn’t happen at a worse time for the organization. Donations during the summer are slow, adding to an already five-year low.
“It is absolutely a struggle. To have this happen on top of it compounds where we are with the challenges,” says Pamela Mullins of the Canadian Blood Services.
“We are still looking for another 50-thousand appointments between now and the end of August,” she adds.
In Ottawa, the Bloodmobile serves as a beacon for walk-up donations as well as a solution to areas where pop-up clinics cannot be accommodated. The mobile clinic accounts for about 7,000 appointments a year.
In the meantime, donors scheduled to give blood at the Bloodmobile are being sent to other clinics.
New pop-up locations will also be set up to meet the demand.
Hildreth still made his way to the clinic on Carling to give blood, but knows the convenience of the Bloodmobile cannot be replaced.
“Not everyone is able to get down like I was to this facility. They do a lot of good work with it,” he says.
With a report from CTV’s John Hua
