Objectives of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS)? Essay

1. What are the objectives of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS)?
The following are the objectives of the CBS
To help Canadians who need blood transfusions
To encourage other Canadians to make blood donations and increase donation retention
To provide safe products and services to Canadians
To distance themselves from contaminated blood scandal that took place during the 1980s and rebuild the trust of the public
To assist with the advancement of patient care beyond the traditional realm of blood and related products
Manage supply according to demand  be able to match the supply to the seasonal variations in the increased blood demand
2. Perform a SWOT analysis for CBS.
Strengths
Growth in the annual units of blood collected
Provision of high quality product based on its principles of maintaining a safe, sufficient, voluntary and national supply of blood and blood products
Convenience of its mobile clinics
43 permanent collection sites through which CBS can reach out to more donors
Negative sentiment resulting from the scandal appears to be receding
More than 80% of Canadians trust CBS
It is a government funded organization which adds to its credibility
No monetary motivation therefore no misrepresentation of health or at-risk behaviors
Weaknesses
The blood contamination history that has led to negative public perception regarding the donation and collection of blood.
It is a voluntary activity, there are no incentives to donate
Unable to achieve growth in active donors who comprise only 3% of the eligible population
New donor retention rate is only around 51%
Opportunities
They can use continue to make use of the media appeal as donors are receptive to such marketing
Can use social media to target youth aged 17-24- demographic that is more likely to donate- and encourage them to donate
Identification of the attractive segments means that they can target their marketing towards these segments in order to increase the number of active and inactive donors
The existence of altruistic donors presents a significant opportunity for CBS to increase donor rate as well as donor retention rate
Threats
An increase in the demand for blood product at a rate of 2% per year, which is twice as fast as the population growth, may result in insufficient supply of blood.
An aging population that increased the demand for and reduced the supply of blood products
While demand is increasing only approximately 50% of the Canadian population is eligible
Another threat is the obstacles faced in getting new donors  fear of needless, time constraint, lack of awareness
A significant threat faced is the short shelf life of blood and blood products
The possibility of blood contamination with the HIV virus or other infections.
The shortage of blood during holiday season is also a cause for concern as many of the donors may be away from home and their regular routines.