It is an act that is simple in its execution, but tremendous in its potential.
Giving blood, as donors will do next week in a St. Paul clinic, typically takes an hour – an hour to give something that someone in Canada needs every minute of every day.
Yet this year, Canada’s inventory of blood has dried up to a six-year low, with the summer seeing people making appointments and not showing up, or cancelling. This has resulted in a critical situation that had Canadian Blood Services spokespeople warning about the blood supply potentially running dry in a matter of days.
More than 50 per cent of Canadians have needed, or have had a family member need, blood, so it’s a cause that should be personal – yet less than four per cent of potential donors give.
Recently, a related issue started gaining traction, as Edmonton mother Tammy McLash’s story appeared in the news. McLash, a mother to twin toddlers, has acute myeloid leukemia and is in need of stem cells, but has yet to find a match. For people to join OneMatch worldwide registry and help McLash and others like her, all that is needed is a couple of swabs to the mouth to see if you have a potentially life-saving match to a patient in need.
In this week’s St. Paul Journal, tribute is paid to volunteer firefighters, who are heroes for doing what they do.
However, one doesn’t have to risk his or her life to be a hero. Each of us has the potential to be a hero to a person in need, with the donation of blood, plasma, stem cells or in the case of death, organs. Joining a registry doesn’t obligate anyone to donate, but it is a first step in potentially saving a life.
As the slogan for Canadian Blood Services states: “It’s in you to give.”
