National Blood Donor Week - Héma-Québec issues reminder about the importance of summer blood donations

MONTREAL, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ - June 9–15 is National Blood Donor Week, and Héma-Québec is asking the public to answer the call to give blood this summer. Whether you're a regular or first-time donor, your contribution is essential!

Although donation bookings often slow down in summer when the weather gets nice and everyone goes on vacation, the need for blood remains critical all throughout the year. Every day, 1,000 donations are needed to meet the needs of hospitals across the province.

This National Blood Donor Week, Héma-Québec would also like to thank its donors, volunteers and staff for the essential work they do every day of the year.

Your first donation is easier than ever!

A number of donation eligibility criteria were relaxed last year to allow more people to donate. For example, people who spent time in France or the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s were previously excluded due to risks related to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). They are now eligible to donate, along with a greater number of people with diabetes. Another change was the adoption of gender-neutral questionnaires in 2022, which have helped a more sexually diverse range of people make donations.

Several blood drives take place each week throughout Québec, and appointments can be booked at different times at one of Héma-Québec's donation centres. Additionally, to improve the donation experience and offer more flexibility, Héma-Québec recently extended operating hours at several donation centres in Greater Montréal: facilities in Brossard, Laval, Montréal, Kirkland and Saint-Bruno are now open until 8:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, and are also open on weekends.

You can book an appointment online or by calling 1-800-343-7264 (SANG). If you want to make sure you are eligible to donate before coming in, visit Héma-Québec's website or call Donor Services at 1-800-847-2525.

About Héma-Québec

Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently meet the Québec population's needs for blood and other high-quality biological products of human origin. Héma-Québec has over 1,900 employees, more than 200,000 donors of blood, stem cells, mother's milk and human tissues, as well as thousands of blood drive volunteers. Every year, Héma-Québec delivers nearly 800,000 biological products of human origin to Québec's hospitals in order to meet patients' needs.

SOURCE Héma-Québec

Information: Patrice Lavoie, [email protected], Media line: 514 832-0871, hemaquebec.ca