Avani Abraham | Contributor
Featured Image: Donating blood can save up to three lives at a time. | Courtesy of Pexels
Students, staff, and faculty alike took time to give the gift of life this past week, as Canadian Blood Services held one of their blood donation drives at York’s Keele Campus.
It’s no exaggeration to say that giving blood saves lives, as every minute of every day, a sick or injured person in Canada is in serious need of blood. This includes leukemia patients, who need help from approximately eight donors a week; patients undergoing cancer treatment, who require about five donors a week; and victims of car crashes, who require help from nearly 50 donors. Moreover, the fact that blood has a limited shelf-life means that the demand for it never stops.
Despite this constant need for blood supply year-round, Canadian Blood Services regularly experiences seasonal decreases in donor volume.
“Collecting blood during the colder winter months can be challenging because the weather can keep people indoors, and many donors are away for the season. Holidays and long weekends also pose a challenge, as people are away on vacation or busy with family activities,” explains Malvika Arun, territory manager in donor relations at Canadian Blood Services.
Each donor centre, York University included, has a target number of units of blood that need to be met in order to provide enough blood products to meet the anticipated need of hospital patients. The YorkU community hasn’t always been successful in meeting the donation target, however.
“At York, we need to collect 660 units of blood per year, to meet patient needs. In 2018, we were short 69 units of blood from the York mobile donor centre, causing us to look for alternate events to make up for lost units,” Arun notes.
York has however, started 2019 off strong, as in the past week, over a period of three days, 184 units of blood were donated.
Those donating should drink plenty of water, eat a healthy meal, and get a good night’s rest the night before donation. A salty snack and a bottle of water before donating is also recommended.
It is also important to note that not everyone is eligible to donate blood, as precautions are taken to ensure the quality of the blood supply.
“To donate, you must be at least 17 years of age, in general good health, and feeling well on the day of your donation,” notes Arun.
Several other factors may require that a potential donor wait for a certain period of time before donating blood as well.
“For example, travel to some areas of the world can expose you to diseases, such as malaria or hepatitis, and may result in a temporary wait period. Also, some medications or the underlying cause for taking the medication may require a temporary wait period as well,” Arun elaborates.
A two-minute eligibility quiz is available on the Canadian Blood Services website if you want to find out if you can be a donor.
Canadian Blood Services will be back at York again on March 19 to 21 between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the Bear Pit in Central Square.
“With the help and support of York U students, volunteer clubs and the faculty, we hope to spread more awareness on the importance of blood donations and the need for new donors to support patients in need of blood and blood product transfusions,” says Arun.
