It was an unfortunate milestone in Swift Current yesterday as a Canadian Blood Services mobile donation clinic pulled out of the city for the last time.

Held usually three times a year, the organization cited a shift away from 2-day clinics which required overnight stays; calling the logistics in organizing them a challenge.

According to Jennifer Dareichuk, the Associate Director of Donor Relations for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Swift Current was one of the last overnight clinics remaining.

"Over the past number of years we've been phasing out overnight mobiles. So ultimately that was our main deciding factor."

Dareichuk stressed that the change would not affect Swift Current patient's access to the blood supply, and added that the decision was in no way made due to the number of donors or lack thereof.

The alternative, and one that she hopes people take advantage of, is to make use of the Canadian Blood Services Website to find clinics operating in Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Regina or Rosetown and make it a part of their plan when they are visiting those towns on other business.

"We understand that this change will impact a number of blood donors in the area. Many people tend to travel for a variety of reasons, so we hope that people will keep blood donation top of mind when travelling to one of these nearby communities."

Dareichuk doesn't expect that the decision will ever reverse, as the organization has been moving away steadily from such clinics, but she did add that the difficult decision was made after looking at other options due to the support from the community during the mobile clinics.