Blood Donations Needed

I wanted to pass along something that I read on a friends blog. (We met her and her little daughter quite some time ago while we were both admitted during the girls chemo.) I have mentioned blood in my blog posts before but I felt that I should dedicate a post to attract some more attention. Please read what she wrote a couple of days ago on her blog... it makes me shiver to think that this was likely someone we know and it could have easily been Charlotte.

 "People have been asking what they can do so this is something you can do, in this week alone up at Children's I watched two or three kids be sent home not getting their blood transfusions because they ran out of blood, so you can go to your nearest blood donor clinic, which you can find at http://www.blood.ca/, and donate some blood. This doesn't matter if you are in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto or anywhere as it will make a difference in someones life."


Charlotte has needed over 30 blood/platelet transfusions this year. If you have donated blood this year thank you! If you have ever thought about it... now is a great time to look into donating! If it has never crossed your mind before, please take a moment to consider all the people who use donated blood...


Click on the chart to make it a bit bigger.

 Yikes, Charlotte had had three brain surgeries and nearly a year of cancer treatments! 

A picture from last May... donated blood was used to prime the machine used to collect Charlotte's stem cells.



Did you know... Here are some interesting facts I found on the Canadian Blood Services Site

One blood donation could save three lives.

Blood is perishable, and has a 42-day "best before" date. That means we can't stockpile it for future use, and why we continuously need blood donors. While 42 days is the maximum shelf life, most donated blood in Canada is sent to hospitals within a week. Platelets only have a 5-day shelf life, and make them a constant challenge to supply, particularly after a long weekend.

The total experience takes about an hour. This involves the health assessment and recovery time. The actual blood donation only takes about 5 to 15 minutes.

A healthy person can donate every 56 days. (Seven times a year)

On average, every 60 seconds, someone in Canada requires blood or a blood product. Canadian Blood Services serves over 800 hospitals across the country. Demand for blood is growing steadily by 2% every year. That may not sound like much, but this year that means we need an additional 17,000 donations.

Between our 41 permanent locations in major cities across the country, and the hundreds of mobile clinics we operate, there are over 20,000 blood donor clinics per year. Chances are there is a blood donor clinic somewhere near where you live, work or play. To find one near you, use our handy Clinic Locator, or call us at 1 888 2 DONATE.
 
Please please please... for all of our new friends at the hospital... donate if you can. If you are not able to donate there are other ways to help, check out the website, and help spread the word.