Winkler Fire Department and Winkler Police Service members continue to battle it out for the most blood donations this summer.

The Sirens For Life challenge kicked off earlier this summer and wraps up at the end of the month. So far, Canadian Blood Services' Steve Raizen says the fire department is ahead, but notes there's still a donation event coming up.

The friendly competition was sparked to help encourage donations over the summer months when donations often dip as residents go on holidays. "Donations often decrease... travel, holidays, changes in routines, make it harder for people to make time to donate," Canadian Blood Services' Steve Raizen explains.

"Unfortunately the demand for blood never stops," he says.

He adds the need for O-negative blood remains high as inventory levels for the universal blood type is low across the country. O-negative donations can help anyone in need including patients being treated for cancer, crash victims with internal bleeding, patients with scheduled surgeries and more.

When someone's life is on the line and there's no time to check for a blood type, Raizen notes all patients may receive O-negative blood. While they would like to have 5-8 days supply of blood to meet anticipated hospital demands, currently they have less than three days supply.

Upcoming donor events include Carman Community Hall, Friday, August 23 from 2:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m, Winkler MB Church Thursday, September 5 from 3:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m, Morden Access Event Centre Monday, September 9 from 2:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m, and Altona Rhineland Pioneer Centre Thursday, September 19 from 3:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.

To learn more, visit blood.ca.