Canadian Blood Services, which is one of two organizations that run blood donor clinics and oversee the country's blood supply, says a number of jobs will be cut as part of changes to its Atlantic operations.

The national, non-profit organization said Tuesday that 17 full-time positions in Saint John, N.B., will be eliminated by 2012 once a new production and distribution facility is up and running in Dartmouth, N.S.

As well, 28 full-time positions will be cut in Halifax once donor testing is moved to Toronto by the end of 2011, though the organization says most of those jobs will be relocated.

Canadian Blood Services says it hopes to redeploy staff within the organization as much as possible rather than resorting to lay-offs.

The future site in Dartmouth, which is expected to open in late 2011, is part of a $38-million project to replace aging blood donor clinics and build new facilities in Atlantic Canada.

As part of the project, the organization says its clinics in Halifax and Saint John will be replaced with modern facilities while a new, permanent site will also be opened in Moncton, N.B.

In February, a union leader in Newfoundland and Labrador said Canadian Blood Services is taking too great a risk by using less-qualified staff in place of nurses to screen donors at clinics across the country.

Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec are responsible for collecting blood and administering the blood supply in Canada.