Following new directives from the provincial government, UFV’s semi-annual blood donation clinic has been cancelled
A UFV blood drive scheduled to take place in the Student Union Building on Nov. 12 has now been cancelled, according to the UFV Alumni Association. According to the event’s page on the UFV alumni website, the drive has been cancelled in response to the province’s most recent directives, in order to “help minimize contact and help flatten the COVID exposure curve.”
The drive, which was planned in cooperation between the Alumni Association, Student Union Society (SUS), Biology and Chemistry Student Association, and Canadian Blood Services (CBS), was announced last month. Unlike previous blood drives at UFV, which have accepted walk-ins, those wishing to donate were asked to make appointments in advance due to COVID-19.
The event would have been the second blood drive hosted by UFV this year, following a clinic held in March at Garden Park Tower in Abbotsford.
Nikolas Venema, former chair of the UFV Alumni Association and a co-organizer of the drive, said prior to the event’s cancellation that the drive was already unable to accept as many volunteers as usual as a result of COVID-19. “The downside is they have to reduce the number of donors because they just can’t have the same traffic as they used to,” he said. “It just goes to show you how much more important it is that … [donors] stay committed to coming out.”
A longtime donor himself, Venema said blood donation clinics have been occurring at UFV for well over a decade, and that the Alumni Association has been involved since 2017. He said students, faculty, and alumni still interested in giving blood can keep their eye out for UFV’s next event, scheduled to occur during the winter semester, or go to the Canadian Blood Services website to find a local clinic and register.
Blood Donation. September 2019. (The Cascade)
