Canadian Blood Services is encouraging blood donors to earn their own "badge of honour" this November 2nd to November 14th by rolling up a sleeve and donating "red" in tribute to the men and women of Canadian Forces currently engaged in military activities throughout the world.

"Many Canadians have chosen to wear red on Fridays as a tribute to our troops and their sacrifices. We're asking Canadians to take that to the next level and donate red - blood that is - to save lives in honour of our men and women in uniform," says Marg Gow, Community Development Coordinator, Canadian Blood Services.  "The 'badge of honour' - bandage - you will have afterwards is a direct tribute to the Canadian dedication to making a positive difference in the world, whether locally or internationally."

The history of Canada's blood system is intertwined with Canada's military forces.  The Second World War and its unprecedented demand for blood necessitated the development of the country's first large scale blood donation efforts.  From this initial effort, the system we know today, now overseen by Canadian Blood Services, was developed.

In 2006 Canadian Blood Services signed an agreement with the Canadian Forces to help create the "Walking Blood Bank" program, which is used in emergency situations where blood is required. Since then Canadian Blood Services pre-screens every service man and woman's blood before they are deployed or if they are on active duty. This means the Canadian Forces has access to on-call donors in the event where large quantities of blood are needed, or when supplies are exhausted. In addition to this program, all NATO countries, including Canada and Canadian Blood Services are occasionally asked to support our military hospitals overseas with blood and blood product shipments.

"Last year in the Toronto region we collected just over 156,000 units of blood.  But at the same time, we supplied more than 195,000 units of blood for patients at 57 local hospitals," adds Gow.  "For the past several years, we have depended on our national inventory and donors from other regions for 50,000 units of blood each year. If you haven't donated in a while, please call 1-888-2-DONATE today and book your appointment to give blood in honour of the Canadian Forces. If you already have an appointment - thank you - and please honour it."