Kelowna

After five weeks of collecting whole blood donations for the 15th annual Interior Drive for Life (IDFL) challenge, Prince George has maintained its lead against Kelowna and achieved close to 94 per cent of its target to date compared to Kelowna with slightly over 75 per cent. This year’s IDFL completion wraps up on Thursday, Oct. 18.

“We’re coming down the stretch and each clinic has five clinic days left in the challenge,” says Erin Kavanagh, partnership specialist with Canadian Blood Services.

“Since just last week, we’ve seen a 14 per cent bump in donations toward our overall target for Kelowna. Kelowna’s population and market size could play a big factor down the stretch, so don’t count us out just yet. It’s time to pull together, roll up our sleeves and drive to the finish.”

With only a week to go in the contest, Kavanagh said Kelowna has collected 820 donations toward its campaign goal of 1,408 donations or about 58 per cent of its target.

Local residents who want to book a donation appointment and support the IDFL contest can go to blood.ca or call 1-888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

Total results to date for Weeks 1-5:

The city that collects the most blood donations by Oct. 18 will be declared the winner. To up the ante, the mayor of the opposing city will wear the winning city’s WHL hockey team jersey at a Council meeting.

The Kelowna blood donor clinic is located at 103-1865 Dilworth Drive (across from Sears) and is open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and alternating Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.