Fort St. John council to support blood plasma donor centre in Prince George

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John will be writing a letter of support for a blood plasma donor centre in Prince George. 

At the June 8th City of Fort St. John council meeting, the council approved a motion to write a letter of support in reply to a letter the city received from Our Blood Counts, dated May 19th. 

Our Blood Counts is a group of donors, recipients and advocates whose petition calling for a blood plasma donor centre in northern B.C. has garnered 4,200 signatures. 

In the letter the city received, Our Blood Counts said Canada relies “heavily” on American donors and suppliers for medications and blood plasma. It said a plasma donor centre in northern B.C. would address this critical deficiency. 

The letter of support will be addressed to the B.C. Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, the Canadian Blood Services’ (CBS) CEO, Dr. Graham Sher and a resolution of support from the council. 

According to the letter, Prince George had a blood donor centre from 1998 to 2015, with the closest donor centres to northern B.C. in Kelowna, Metro Vancouver or Edmonton, Alberta. 

The group believes northern B.C. can play a role in supporting the CBS’s goal of securing a million new blood donors by 2030. 

So far, the group has received resolutions and letters of support from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, the City of Prince George, the BC Nurses Union, the District of Kitimat, Northern Health, and others.  

The group believes the council’s support will show Northern leadership and unity in addressing the need for specialized blood products in B.C. and across Canada. 

To sign Our Blood Counts’ petition, click here. 

To read the full letter, see below.