Prince George has increased its lead against Kelowna in the 15th annual Interior Drive for Life (IDFL) competition After four weeks they have achieved 96 per cent of their target to date compared to Kelowna, with about 74 per cent.

“We’re a bit behind this year in reaching our IDFL goal of 1,408 blood donations,” said Erin Kavanagh, partnership specialist with Canadian Blood Services.

“We’ve got two weeks to go and have collected 615 donations, which make up around 44 per cent of our overall target. We're looking to Kelowna area residents to rally their family, friends, co-workers and classmates to give blood this week in time for Thanksgiving.

“Don’t wait to donate,” said Kavanagh. “There’s nothing sweeter than a comeback win.”

To encourage more appointment bookings through online word of mouth, Canadian Blood Services has launched a four-day (October 2 – 5) national Tweetup event called #14000thankyous.

Kelowna residents can tweet a message, photo or video of how they’re helping with the hashtag #14000thankyous. It is the first time Canadian Blood Services has hosted a large-scale, national Tweetup.

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).