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Give the gift of life |
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Written by editor
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Sunday, June 14 2009, 10:54 PM |
Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
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As a blood donor, Diana Tamkin knows that blood donations can save lives. She just never thought one of those lives would be her own.
Tamkin was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2000. She and her husband Richard were living in Ontario at the time, but for the next seven months she lived in the hospital. And during that time she received no less than 200 blood transfusions.
“Without them I wouldn’t be here,” Tamkin says.
Blood transfusions were a daily ritual, and some days she received six or seven. Fortunately, the disease is in remission, but her blood platelet count is still a little low, about 168,000. However, that’s considerably better than the 10 platelets she had at the height of her illness.
If the number of platelets is too low, excessive bleeding can occur. If the number of platelets is too high, blood clots can form, which may obstruct blood vessels and result in a stroke, heart attack, or both.
Tamkin can no longer donate her own blood, but she urges others to because she know firsthand how important it is and how desperately blood is needed.
“I feel very grateful to the people who donated. I’m here because of people giving.”
Complete strangers, no less.
Tamkin’s story coincides with National Blood Donor Week, which concluded Sunday with World Blood Donor Day. Canadian Blood Services estimates it needs to collect 226,000 units of whole blood, 13,000 units of plasma, and 10,000 units of platelets in June, July and August to meet hospital demand throughout the country. The organization also says it needs 25,000 units of O negative blood during the summer to meet demand.
Dorinda Emery, community development co-ordinator for the Canadian Blood Services in Lethbridge, says this year’s goal locally is to collect 12,000 units of blood. That will require donations from people who don’t normally give blood, especially since many of the older, regular contributors can no longer donate, and will require blood products themselves.
“We’re going to need new donors to make that goal this year,” Emery says.
Emery also notes about seven per cent of regular donors will not be able to donate for a year because they have been to Mexico where the outbreak of the H1N1 virus originated.
Emery points out Canadians give the least amount of blood compared to other nations in the free world, and it’s a constant challenge to keep up with the need. Yet it only takes about an hour to donate, and the blood could save someone’s life.
“Every donation you make can help up to three people.”
Millions of people owe their lives to people who donate their blood and whom they have never met. However, according to the World Blood Donor Day website, the overwhelming majority of the world’s population does not have access to safe blood. Over 80 million units of blood are donated every year, but only 38 per cent is collected in developing countries where 82 per cent of the global population live.
World Blood Donor Day builds on the success of World Health Day 2000 which was devoted to the theme “Blood Saves Lives. Safe Blood Starts With Me.” It also builds on International Blood Donor Day organized annually by the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations.
Anyone wishing to donate blood can call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-236-6283, and book an appointment. Donors can also drop in to the clinic at the Lethbridge Centre mall, 210 200 4 Ave. S. Donations are accepted from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, noon to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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