The first blood donor clinic of the year gets underway today (Tuesday) at the Best Western.

There are sessions from noon-2:30 pm and 4 pm  to 7:30 pm, with a couple more tomorrow.

Territory Manager of Canadian Blood Services Joanne Drake says there’s a real need for people to donate this time of the year as donating blood is not top of mind during the holidays.

She says a lot of people are travelling too and in serious accidents up to 50 donations may be used to save someone’s life.

To book an appointment go to blood.ca

Drake says they have 36 openings to fill during the clinic, including 30 tomorrow.

She says due to new iron eligibility guidelines women are only able to donate once every 3 months now.