Sudbury's plasma donation centre celebrates its first year

Canadian Blood Services' plasma donation centre in Sudbury celebrates its one-year anniversary this month.

When the centre opened in 2020 it was among the first of its kind in Canada. There are only three such locations in the country. Lethbridge, Alberta and Kelowna, British Columbia, also have plasma donation centres.

Judy Jones, associate director of recruitment for plasma operations at Canadian Blood Services, said they chose Sudbury because the city already had a strong community of blood donors.

"There was a great donor base that was already there," she said. "There was a great population and accessibility from northern Ontario."

In its first year, the plasma donation centre, located on Lasalle Boulevard, has collected 12,000 plasma donations from more than 1,400 donors. 

On its opening day last  August Shannon Morrison was the first person to make a donation. Her son, Heydan, has a rare immune deficiency and needs medication made from donated plasma.

"Until it affects you, you don't think about donating," Morrison said at the time. "Ever since Heydan started treatment, he's become a happy, healthy, energetic little boy."

Jones said the procedure to donate plasma takes 75 minutes, which is a little bit longer than donating whole blood.  "When a donor comes in to donate, what we do is we provide them back their red blood cells, their platelets, and we only take the plasma," she said. 

A male can donate their plasma as frequently as once per week, while a female can donate once every two weeks. But Jones said Canadian Blood Services recommends donors come in once a month, to make it a habit.