Blood donation clinics are being run over the holidays in Nanaimo. (Canadian Blood Services)

By Alex Rawnsley

in you to give

‘Over 200 appointments’ available for holiday blood drive in Nanaimo

Dec 29, 2025 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — Appointments needto be filled for a mobile blood clinic in the Harbour City over the holidays.

Staff from Canadian Blood Services will be set up at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre from Tuesday, Dec. 30 through Friday, Jan. 2, ready to welcome volunteers to give a unit of blood.

Spokesperson Patricia Willms said there is a lot of demand for blood all year round and they’re hopeful families will consider starting a new holiday tradition.

“We’ve got over 200 appointments to fill over that time. Come in and wrap up 2025 by doing something meaningful for either yourself or someone in need.”

Appointments can be made through the Canadian Blood Services website.

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Donors must be over the age of 17 and in good health.

A donation typically takes around an hour from start to finish and can literally be a lifesaver on many levels.

“Depending on how the units are broken down, each unit could help or save up to three lives,” Willms added.

The call for donors comes after a pair of milestones across the mid-Island recently.

Gord Leverington, from Qualicum Beach, gave his 350th donation on blood on Dec. 10, having made an appointment every 56 days for most of the last 70 years of his life.

His journey started at age 17 after a friend of his was involved in a serious car crash and he was asked to help.

Now 88 years old, he continues to get into the chair.

“I worked different parts through the RCMP, ambulance system and fire department, and I’ve been to so many cases where they needed blood badly, and that got me really going. I’ll donate until I can’t do it anymore.”

In late November, retired RCMP Insp. Ted Smith celebrated his 300th donation, which resulted in similar fashion.

The 77-year-old Smith has donated regularly since he was 18 years old and was inspired by his mother who worked as a Canadian Red Cross nurse during the Second World War.

“She had a lot of exposure to blood donations, and quite often they were very, very frequent donations. We always thought it was kind of neat…I was lucky to be in places where I could give very regularly from the age of 18 to now, when I’m age 76, and I hope to keep on giving.”

— with files from Jordan Davidson

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